Hedges House Residential Care Home

Updated 27 February 2020

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

One inspector, an inspection manager and an Expert by Experience visited the home to carry out the inspection. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Hedges House Residential Hotel Limited is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. This included looking at information held on our database about the service for example, statutory notifications completed by the registered provider.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We also sought feedback from the local authority contracts and commissioning teams and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with eight people who lived at the home and five relatives. In addition, we spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager, four carers, two housekeepers and the maintenance person.

To gather information, we looked at a variety of records. This included care records related to three people, and multiple medicines administration records. We also looked at information related to the management of the service. These included audits, quality assurance documents and safety certification. We did this to check the management team had oversight of the service and to make sure the service could be appropriately managed.

We walked around the home and carried out a visual inspection and observed care interactions between people and staff.

Updated 27 February 2020

About the service

Hedges House Residential Hotel Limited is a residential care home providing personal care to 24 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 34 people in one adapted building. The home has two lounge areas, a dining area, a conservatory and a secure garden.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People told us they felt safe living at the home. They told us they were satisfied with staffing levels and said staff were always at hand if needed. Systems and processes were established to ensure people were protected from risk of abuse. Staff had a good awareness of people’s needs and risk was suitably managed. Infection control processes were followed, and the home was suitably maintained to promote safety. Medicines were managed safely, in line with good practice.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The service had worked hard to ensure peoples’ needs and choices were assessed in line with standards, guidance and the law. People said they had access to a GP and other health professionals. The service worked proactively to ensure people were supported to live healthier lives. Staff told us they had access to training and felt supported in their roles. People’s nutritional needs were met, and we received positive feedback about the standard of food provided.

People and relatives all agreed staff were kind and caring. Staff worked discreetly to maintain people's privacy and dignity. There was a light-hearted atmosphere throughout the home. Privacy was promoted.

People told us they received person-centred care. They told us they were able to contribute to how they lived and were supported within the home. Organised activities took place. No one had any complaints at the time of the visit but were confident any complaints would be dealt with effectively by management. The registered manager spoke passionately about and was committed to providing high-quality person-centred end of life care.

Everyone we spoke with agreed the home was well-led. The management team was aware of their responsibilities and was committed to providing high-quality, person-centred care. This included having systems for continuous learning and driving up standards. Staff told us the home was a good place to work and morale within the home was high. Staff turnover within the home was low. The registered manager had a system for monitoring quality and safety within the home.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 12 August 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.