31 August 2016
During a routine inspection
We last inspected the home on 13 September 2013, when we found the service to be compliant with all the regulations we assessed at that time.
Hourigan House is situated in the centre of a residential area of Leigh. The home is registered to provide care and support for up to 40 people. The bedrooms are single occupancy and a number of the bedrooms have en-suite facilities. Bedrooms are located across two floors and are accessible by a lift. At the time of the inspection, there were 37 people living at Hourigan House.
At the time of our visit there was a registered manager in post. 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.
All the people we spoke with told us they felt safe living at the home. We saw appropriate risk assessments were in place and support plans had been developed to meet people’s individual needs and preferences.
The home had sufficient numbers of staff deployed which were formally calculated based on people’s dependencies. The recruitment process was robust and there were appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures in place to maintain people’s safety.
The management of medications promoted people’s safety. Appropriate arrangements were in place to ensure that medicines had been ordered, stored and administered appropriately.
Members of staff were trained to provide effective and safe care which met people’s individual needs and wishes. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities. Staff were supported by management to maintain and develop their skills and knowledge through ongoing support and regular training. The staff liaised with a range of health care professionals to ensure that care and support to people was well coordinated and appropriate.
The manager and staff demonstrated a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).
The experiences of people who lived at Hourigan House were positive. People were treated with kindness and compassion and people's privacy and dignity was respected. People were involved in their care planning and the care and support they received was personalised and staff respected their wishes and met their needs.
People led busy and fulfilled lives. The activities coordinator was motivated to ensure everybody’s needs were catered for and we saw a varied activities programme was on offer. People spoke highly of their experiences and that they wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the home to other people that were considering a care home.
People knew how to make a complaint and these were responded to within the timescales indicated in the policy. We saw the home had received a lot of compliments and appreciation for the care provided.
A range of audits were undertaken to help monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service. We saw actions were implemented timely following any deficits identified. Management understood their legal requirements and notifications had been submitted to CQC.