Background to this inspection
Updated
22 September 2017
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.
This unannounced inspection took place on 26 July 2017. The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an expert by experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. When planning the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service, including notifications. A notification is information about events that by law the registered persons should tell us about. We asked for feedback from the commissioners of people's care to find out their views on the quality of the service. We also contacted the Local Authority Safeguarding Team for information they held about the service.
During the inspection, we spoke with four people who used the service and two visitors. We also spoke with the registered manager, the provider, one senior care, two care staff and one domestic staff.
We observed the delivery of care and support provided to people living at the location and their interactions with staff. 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. We reviewed the care records of four people and three staff files, which included pre-employment checks and training records. We also looked at other records relating to the management of the service including accident reports, staff rotas, monthly audits, and medicine administration records.
Updated
22 September 2017
This inspection took place on 26 July 2017 and was unannounced. Hillesden House provides personal care and accommodation for up to 22 older people who may have a dementia diagnosis. At the time of the inspection there were 19 people using the service.
There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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.
People had to wait for their care and support as staff were sometimes too busy to respond. Medicines were not stored safely; however people did receive their medicine when they needed it.
People were supported to manage risks to their safety and staff understood how to safeguard people from abuse.
People had support from staff that were knowledgeable and had the skills to meet their needs. People had their rights protected by staff that understood and could apply the principles of the MCA; however this was not always documented in an appropriate way.
People had a choice of food and drinks and received support to ensure their dietary needs were met. People had support to maintain their health.
People received support from staff that were caring in their interactions with people. People were involved in decisions and had their choices observed by staff. People received support in a way that maintained their privacy and dignity.
People had their needs and preferences for care and support met by staff that understood them and they were supported to be engaged in meaningful activities. People understood how to make a complaint and the registered manager had a system in place to investigate and respond to concerns.
There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service; however these were not always effective in identifying areas which required improvement. People and staff could approach the management team. The registered manager and staff understood their roles and responsibilities.
There was a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 regarding good governance and safe care and treatment. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.