Archived: Hillside Care Home

Updated 27 April 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

We visited the service on 08 January 2015. Our inspection was unannounced and the inspection team consisted of two adult social care inspectors, a specialist advisor and an expert by experience. The specialist advisor and expert by experience had experience of working with people who were living with dementia and working within the legislative framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

During our inspection we spoke with 12 people who used the service and 10 family members. We also spoke with eight care staff and the registered manager. We looked at four people’s care records and observed how people were cared for. We also looked at staff records and records relating to the management of the service.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

Before our inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service including the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form in which we ask the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed notifications of incidents that the provider had sent us since the last inspection. We contacted local commissioners of the service and district nursing teams who supported some people who used the service to obtain their views about it.

Updated 27 April 2015

This was an unannounced inspection, carried out on 08 January 2015.

Hillside Nursing Centre is a purpose built care home over two floors, which provides accommodation for up to 119 people. All bedrooms have en-suite facilities. Access to the upper floor is via a passenger lift or stairs. Local shops and other amenities are a short distance away from the service and there are good public transport links close by.

At the time of our inspection there were 43 people living at the service.

The service has a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The last inspection of Hillside Care Centre was carried out in June 2014 and we found that the service was not meeting all the regulations that were assessed.

People told us they felt safe at the service and that staff treated them well. Family members raised no concerns about the safety of their relatives and they said they would speak up if they had any concerns at all. Staff were able to describe the different types of abuse and the signs which indicate abuse may have occurred. Staff also knew what their responsibilities were for protecting people from abuse and for reporting any concerns they had.

Although people had a care plan for their assessed needs they did not reflect people’s wishes about how they wished their care and support to be provided. Care plans were regularly reviewed with the involvement of the person they were for and other important people such as family members and relevant health and social care professionals.

People told us there was always enough staff around to provide them with the care and support they needed. We saw that staff responded promptly to people’s calls for assistance and that people had all the equipment they needed to help with their mobility and comfort.

Safe recruitment practices were followed to ensure staff were suitable to work with people in a care setting. There were sufficient qualified, skilled and experienced staff on duty to meet people’s needs. Staff were available when people needed them and people told us that they had confidence in the ability of staff.

Staff worked well with health and social care professionals to make sure people received the care and support they needed. People were referred onto to the appropriate service when concerns about their health or wellbeing were noted. Medication was managed safely and people received their medication at the right times.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. Policies and procedures were in place to guide staff in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Records we saw and discussions held with the registered manager showed how they ensured decisions were made in people’s best interests.

Staff received an appropriate level of support from their line manager and they were encouraged to discuss matters relating to their work and training needs. Staff completed an induction when they first started work at the service. Following on from their induction staff received ongoing training in key topics relevant to the work they carried out and the needs of people who used the service.

The premises were accessible, clean, and safe. Emergency procedures were in place and staff were familiar with them. Staff felt confident about dealing with emergency situations such as if a person’s health suddenly deteriorated or if there was a fire in the building.

The service was managed by a person who was described as being approachable and supportive. The quality of the service was regularly checked and improvements were made based on the findings of the checks and from seeking people’s views about the service.