Hilltop House (Domiciliary Care)

Updated 2 April 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

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in a supported living setting. Hilltop House is purpose-built single household accommodation in a single building. The accommodation is rented and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support service.

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

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. A provider information return was not requested. 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of the information gathered to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the local service manager, registered manager, deputy head of service, senior care worker, and care workers and a visiting therapist.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and multiple medication records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We received feedback from a relative.

Updated 2 April 2020

About the service

Hilltop House (Domiciliary Care) is a domiciliary care agency which is registered to provide people with personal care. The service supports people who have a physical disability. Support is provided to people living in one of eleven self-contained flats in a single building. Staff support is available 24 hours per day. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care support to 11 people.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with physical disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

Staff were exceptionally caring and encouraged people to live as full a life as possible and supported to live the life they wanted. Staff had formed positive relationships with the people they supported and looked for ways to make them feel valued. People were genuinely encouraged to express their goals and wishes, and the service looked for ways to make these happen. Staff knew people exceptionally well and used this knowledge to support them to achieve their goals. Staff were considerate of people's feelings at all times and treated people with the utmost respect and dignity.

People benefitted from a service that had dedicated leaders and staff whose experience was used to support people to lead full and meaningful lives. The values of the provider were consistently demonstrated by staff in their interactions with people and with each other. People's views were sought and acted upon. The provider worked with other organisations to enhance its service delivery. The management team analysed survey results with an openness and commitment to continuously improve. Auditing was directed at reviewing any lessons learnt to maximise people's safety and quality of life.

Care plans had been developed and staff knew the people they were supporting extremely well. Staff worked hard to promote people's right to make their own decisions about their care where possible and respected the choices they made. People's consent was always obtained.

People were supported by staff who had been safely recruited and who received the training and support to understand and meet their needs.

People had access to a wide range of personalised and group activities and were supported to have a say in all aspects of how the service was delivered.

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 applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensured that people who used the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

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 2 September 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.