The Hillings

Updated 27 January 2022

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.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 11 January and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection.

Updated 27 January 2022

About the service

The Hillings is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 72 older people some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of this inspection there were 66 people living at the service. Accommodation is provided in one adapted building all on the same level.

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

People were well cared for by staff who loved their jobs. People were relaxed with staff and the way staff interacted with people had a positive effect on their well-being. People were treated with kindness, respect and compassion and their privacy, dignity and independence were promoted.

People’s feedback was consistently positive about the care they received. People particularly liked the service because of the caring staff. One person told us, “I love it here – the staff make it, I’m very grateful to them.” One Visitor told us “I know almost all the staff and am always made to feel welcome.” Another visitor told us, “The staff couldn’t be more helpful, [name]’s well looked after. We’ve never had any complaints.”

Systems and processes were in place at the service which kept people safe in all areas of their care including the administration of medicines.

Care plans were in place which supported staff to deliver personalised care. People were supported to maintain their health and access healthcare support. Staff worked in partnership with other agencies to ensure people received the right support.

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.

Enough staff were available to support people. Staff were safely recruited before they started working at the service. Staff received induction, training and supervision to ensure that they had the right skills and abilities to support people.

People were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet.

Systems were in place to monitor the service, which ensured that people's risks were mitigated, and lessons were learnt when things went wrong. There was an open culture within the service, where people and staff could approach the registered manager who acted on concerns raised to make improvements to people's care.

The registered manager was well supported by a team of staff with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

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 7 April 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.