- Care home
Hillsborough Residential Home
Assessment report published 29 July 2025
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 11 June to 24 June 2025. Hillsborough Residential Home provides personal care and support for up to 16 older people, some of whom may be living with dementia. At the time of our visit there were 14 people living at the home. The assessment was prompted following concerns being raised to CQC about the management of the service.
The provider had not established a good learning culture. Incidents and accidents were not recorded with enough detail to enable managers to identify patterns. When people raised concerns, these were not consistently recorded and thoroughly investigated. CQC and the local safeguarding authority were not always notified of allegations of abuse. Risk assessments did not guide staff on how to support people when they were distressed or anxious. Systems for safe recruitment had not always been followed. Improvements were required to the way medicines were managed. Records were disorganised and difficult to locate.
However, the facilities and equipment met people’s needs and were clean and well-maintained. People were supported to maintain relationships with family and friends and visitors to the service were made to feel welcome.
There were enough staff to support people during the day. Additional staff had been added to the rota at particularly busy times to help ensure people’s needs could be met in line with their preferred routines. Staff told us they had completed training and received supervisions but there were no records available to evidence this.
People had enough to eat and drink. Staff monitored people’s health and escalated any concerns appropriately. People were supported to access other healthcare agencies when needed. Professionals external to the service were positive about their joint working.
We identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, governance of the service and safe recruitment.
We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.
People's experience of this service
People, and their relatives, were positive about the experience of living at Hillsborough. They told us staff were caring and responded quickly to any requests for support. One person said; “Staff are all very nice, all of them.”
People felt safe and told us staff treated them with respect and kindness. One person commented; “We are treated as equals.” Not everyone living at Hillsborough was able to tell us about their experience; we used an observational tool to record their experiences. We observed staff spent time chatting with people while providing care. This was done naturally and with patience and gentle humour.
Relatives’ comments included; “Staff are very patient and very kind. I’m confident [my relative’s] cared for” and “[My relative] is doing amazing, the care is impeccable.” However, some relatives referred to a lack of activities for people. For example, “There are some activities on and my relative does take part, but there’s not as much as there was” and “My only complaint is there is not enough stimulation.”