Archived: Hyde Nursing Home

We found the following examples of good practice

People were supported to receive visits from friends and family in line with local guidance and advice. Staff actively supported visitors to access the required testing and personal protective equipment (PPE) was provided. Risk assessments were in place.

People were supported to access the health care input they needed. Visits from health care professionals, such as podiatry, speech and language therapy and tissue viability were supported where risk was identified.

People were admitted to the service in line with current guidance. Staff would speak to families to gain as much information as possible about the person’s individual needs and provide practical information about the service such as how visiting could be arranged.

All staff and residents were encouraged and supported to engage in the Covid-19 testing and vaccination programme. An individual approach was taken for people living at the home where it could be difficult to obtain a sample and there were clear expectations about staff testing which staff understood.

The home was clean and tidy, staff wore PPE appropriately and any shortfalls in infection control practices (IPC) were quickly identified and addressed by the registered manager. Information about promoting good IPC practice and use of PPE was clearly displayed across the home and plenty of PPE was available for staff.

The service was last inspected on 23 March 2016 where we conducted a focussed inspection to look at the safe domain only. We found that improvements were still required and made a recommendation was for the registered manager to ensure that handover notes contain pertinent and legible information to ensure effective information exchange between staff shifts. Staff need to be fully updated and aware of the current care and support needs of each person they will be caring for during each shift.

The provider sent us an action plan giving details of how they intended to address the recommendation made. During this inspection we found that the action taken had addressed the findings detailed in that recommendation.

Hyde Nursing Home is one of a number of care homes in Tameside owned by Meridian Healthcare Limited, part of HC-One Limited. The service is situated in the Hyde area of Tameside. It is a purpose built care home and is registered to provide accommodation for people who require nursing and residential care. There are 60 bedrooms and the home is divided into three units; Godley Court and Newton Court provide nursing care for up to 35 people in total. Werneth Court is a unit providing nursing care for up to 25 people living with dementia. Godley and Werneth Courts are split over two floors, each with upstairs and downstairs units. Each unit has a lounge, dining area, kitchenette and individual, ensuite bedrooms. The main kitchen and large laundry are located on the top floor of the home.

At the time of our inspection there were 53 people living at Hyde Nursing Home.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of the 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.

Medicines were managed safely.

Staffing levels were sufficient at the time of the inspection to meet the needs of people who were cared for and supported by the service.

Staff understood their role in keeping people as safe as possible and had received training in safeguarding adults.

A robust recruitment system was in place to minimise the risk of unsuitable people being employed to work in the service.

Risk assessments were in place to minimise the potential risk of harm to people during the delivery of their care.

Both the registered manager and deputy manager understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). This meant that people who may lack capacity were being appropriately supported to make their own decisions whenever possible.

Staff were provided with relevant training and had access to online information and support. Staff confirmed that the training they received supported them to carry out their job roles effectively.

We observed staff treat people with kindness, respect and dignity and staff understood the needs of people which was demonstrated by the way they communicated with them.

People had access to various activities on a daily basis and were supported by appropriately trained staff.

There was a complaints procedure displayed throughout the home and a record of all complaints and the action taken to resolve them was kept.

Regular meetings were held for staff teams, people who used the service and their relatives. This gave people the opportunity to express their views and raise any concerns about the service. This indicated that the culture of the service was open and transparent.

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 12 October 2015. At that time we found there was one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This was because the provider did not ensure there were always sufficient numbers of staff available to meet people's needs.

After the comprehensive inspection, the provider wrote to us to say what action they would take to meet legal requirements in relation to the breach. We undertook a focused inspection on the 23 March 2016 to check that they had followed their plan and to confirm that they now met the legal requirements.

During this inspection we found some improvements had been made to staffing with regards to the recruitment of ancillary staff, such as kitchen assistants and domestic staff. These new staff were in place to relieve care staff during the busy lunchtime periods. Additionally, recruitment to permanent care and nursing staff was on-going to remove the need for agency workers.

This report only covers our findings in relation to this topic. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for ‘Hyde Nursing Home’ on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Hyde Nursing Home is a purpose built care home and is registered to provide accommodation for people who require nursing and personal care. There are 60 bedrooms and the home is divided into three units; Godley Court and Newton Court provide nursing care for up to 35 people in total. Werneth Court is a unit providing nursing care for up to 25 people living with dementia. Godley and Werneth Courts are split over two floors, each with upstairs and downstairs areas. Each unit has a lounge, dining area and individual, en-suite bedrooms.

At the time of our inspection there were 51 people living at Hyde Nursing Home.

The home’s registered manager had worked in the role since October 2015. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The registered manager told us that they had recruited new care and nursing staff and still had 130 hours care staff vacancies to recruit to. This meant that the home was using fewer agency staff but this did not equate to a net increase in care and nursing staff levels on the three units. However, fewer agency and more permanent staff meant that carers were able to get to know people and their care and support needs.

People told us that staff were very friendly and one person told us that they did not feel that they had to wait too long for assistance. However, another person told us that they often had to wait for assistance. We saw that staff were kind and caring whilst providing support.

Handover notes lacked information or were incomplete leading to insufficient information exchange between staff during staff changeover times.

We have made one recommendation for the registered manager to ensure handover notes are improved around information and legibility.

At our focused inspection on 23 March 2016, we found that a number of changes had been made and our observations on the day showed that the lunchtime experience overall for people who live at Hyde Nursing Home, had improved from the previous inspection.

The people who we spoke to who used the service were happy with Hyde Nursing Home and had no complaints. Comments included 'It is very nice here and you can have a laugh with them (staff).' And 'Staff are alright here they speak politely and kindly.' Another person said 'They are genuine people who do their best for you.'

Relatives of people who used the service were also satisfied. One relative said 'You can't fault the staff and I have confidence in the nurses.' And another relative said 'The staff are efficient.'

We spoke with people who lived in the home and those who were able to express their views told us that they were satisfied with the care and support they received from staff. The care plans we observed had a comprehensive assessment and identified risk to promote people's safety and welfare.

Staff had received safeguarding of vulnerable adults training. We found the provider worked with the local safeguarding team and responded to safeguarding incidents appropriately.

We found that the home was clean and people who use the service commented that 'They (the cleaners) are always cleaning here.'

Staff working at Hyde Nursing home appeared to enjoy their work. Comments included 'I like the satisfaction of helping people and seeing them smile at you.' The staff felt they received appropriate training to do their job.

When we spoke with people living in the home, they told us that they were happy and satisfied with the care and support they received from care staff. Comments included:

"The staff are kind and caring and do their best to help."

"I have been very happy here."

We spoke with three relatives of people living in the home. Comments we received from them were positive. One person said, "The staff are very good, my xxx always looks lovely. The staff make sure people keep their dignity. The care staff are very pleasant and they know what care my xxxx needs." One other person told us,"I had a minor concern , the staff were very responsive and they addressed the issues I raised."

We looked at care records of three people. These contained the relevant documentation and provided staff with the information they needed to provide safe care and support to people living in the home.

There were appropriate policies and procedures in place so that people received their medication in a safe way. Appropriate arrangements were in place for obtaining, recording, storing, administering and disposing of medication.

Training records showed that the service prioritised training for staff. Relatives of people living in the home told us they felt confident in the abilities of staff to provide safe appropriate care.