The Care Quality Commission
  • Care Home
  • Care home

Archived: Hinton Lodge

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Patten Lane, Guisborough, Cleveland, TS14 6PJ (01287) 634701

Provided and run by:
Marran Ltd

Important: The provider of this service changed - see old profile

All Inspections

11 December 2019

During a routine inspection

About the service

Hinton Lodge provides support for up to four people who have mental health needs or learning disabilities. The home is an adapted building and provides residential care to young adults and older adults. At the time of inspection three people were using the service.

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 learning 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.

The service was a small home, similar to a domestic style property. It was registered for the support of up to four people. Four people were using the service. This is in line with current best practice guidance. The design of the building supported people to be independent. It was located within a residential area, close to local amenities. There were deliberately no identifying signs, intercom, cameras, industrial bins or anything else outside to indicate it was a care home. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.

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

People said they loved living at the service. It was close to local amenities which supported them to be independent. They were very positive about staff and the care which they received. This helped them to feel safe. Staff were responsive to people’s needs and acted quickly when risks to people were identified. People said there were always enough staff on duty to look after them.

Staff knew people well and had the right training to support them. People were well supported to maintain their health and well-being. Staff followed guidance from health professionals to manage any risks. The home was well maintained.

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.

People were very complimentary about staff. They told us they received the best care from them. Staff involved people in all aspects of their care. People were encouraged to be independent and were supported to maintain relationships with relatives.

Staff had been in post for many years and had excellent knowledge of people. People received consistent, individualised care and support. Positive relationships between people and staff had been developed. They referred to each other as 'family.'

The registered manager and staff worked together to deliver good care to people. This had led to positive outcomes for people. Quality assurance measures had been effective in maintaining a good level of care for people. Feedback was sought and used to make improvements.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use 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 6 June 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.

9 May 2017

During a routine inspection

This inspection took place on 9 May 2017 followed up by phone calls to relatives on the 12 May 2017. The service was last inspected on 26 March 2015 and the service was rated Good overall with requires improvement in Safe. This was due to risk assessments not being in place.

Hinton Lodge provides support for up to four people who have mental health needs or learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection one person was in hospital and three people were using the service.

At this inspection we found risks to people arising from their health and support needs as well as the premises were now assessed, and plans were in place to minimise them.

There were systems in place to ensure that people received their medicines as prescribed.

There was enough staff to meet people's needs. Robust recruitment and selection procedures were in place and appropriate checks had been undertaken before staff began work. Staff told us they received training to be able to carry out their role. Staff received effective supervision and a yearly appraisal.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) provides a legal framework for making particular decisions on behalf of people who may lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves. The Act requires that as far as possible people make their own decisions and are helped to do so when needed. When they lack mental capacity to take particular decisions, any made on their behalf must be in their best interests and as least restrictive as possible.

Staff understood the importance of ensuring people agreed to the care and support they provided and when to involve others to help people make important decisions. The registered manager was aware of their responsibilities in regard to the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

People were cared for by staff that were trained in recognising and understanding how to report potential abuse. Staff felt confident to raise any concerns they had in order to keep people safe.

People enjoyed a good choice of meals and were supported to maintain a healthy diet.

The service worked with external professionals to support and maintain people’s health.

The interactions between people and staff showed that staff knew the people well.

Care was planned and delivered in way that responded to people’s assessed needs. Care plans contained detailed information about people’s personal preferences and wishes

Staff showed us that they knew the interests, likes and dislikes of people and people were supported to enjoy various activities. We saw that staff ensured that they were respectful of people's choices and decisions.

Relatives said they were not involved in reviews of people's care but said staff listened to them. Relatives and staff felt confident they could raise any issues should the need arise and that action would be taken as a result. The service had a clear complaints policy that was applied when issues arose.

The registered manager was a visible presence at the service, and was actively involved in monitoring standards and promoting good practice. The service had quality assurance systems in place which were used to drive continuous improvements.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

26 March 2015

During a routine inspection

We inspected Hinton Lodge on 26 March 2015. This was an announced inspection. We informed the provider at short notice (the day before) that we would be visiting to inspect. We did this because the location is a small care home for people who are often out during the day; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

Hinton Lodge is located in Guisborough and provides personal care and support for up to four people who have learning disabilities and mental health conditions. All rooms are for single occupancy and have en suite facilities. It is situated close to the centre of Guisborough and has easy access to shops, local amenities and public transport. The service provider is the long standing Miltoun House Group, which became a limited company and re-registered as Marran Ltd on 31 December 2014.

The service has a registered manager, who has been registered with us in respect of the service’s new registration since 08 January 2015. Prior to this they were registered as manager for the service’s previous registration. 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.

There were systems and processes in place to protect people from the risk of harm. Staff were aware of different types of abuse, what constituted poor practice and action to take if abuse was suspected. Appropriate checks of the building and maintenance systems were undertaken to ensure health and safety.

The service’s fire risk assessment had not been reviewed since 2011. We saw that some risk assessments were in place in relation to people’s health, crossing roads and falls. Risk assessments detailed some measures to keep people safe, however required further development. Some of the care plans included comments about relevant risks, but this was not part of a robust and formal risk assessment process that fed into the development of people’s care plans and supported them in positive risk taking. The registered manager assured us that people were safe. However there was a potential risk of people not being kept safe because the provider had not identified, assessed and managed risks relating to the health, welfare and safety of people who used the service.

Staff told us that they felt supported. There was a regular programme of staff supervision and appraisal in place. Records of supervision were detailed and showed the registered manager worked with staff to identify their personal and professional development.

Staff had been trained and had the skills and knowledge to provide support to the people they cared for. There was enough staff on duty to provide support and ensure that their needs were met. Staff were aware of the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards which meant they were working within the law to support people who may lack capacity to make their own decisions.

We found that safe recruitment and selection procedures were in place and appropriate checks had been undertaken before staff began work. This included obtaining references from previous employers to show staff employed were safe to work with vulnerable people.

Appropriate systems were in place for the management of medicines so that people received their medicines safely.

There were positive interactions between people and staff. We saw that staff treated people with dignity and respect. Staff were attentive, showed compassion, were patient and gave encouragement to people.

People’s nutritional needs were met, with people being involved in shopping and decisions about meals. People who used the service told us that they got enough to eat and drink and that staff asked what people wanted. Staff told us that they closely monitored people and would contact the dietician if needed. However, staff did not complete nutritional assessment documentation.

People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare professionals and services. People told us that they were supported and encouraged to have regular health checks and were accompanied by staff to hospital appointments.

Assessments were undertaken to identify people’s health and support needs. Person centred plans were developed with people who used the service to identify how they wished to be supported.

People’s independence was encouraged and their hobbies and leisure interests were individually assessed. Staff encouraged and supported people to access activities within the community.

The provider had a system in place for responding to people’s concerns and complaints. People told us they knew how to complain and felt confident that staff would respond and take action to support them.

There were effective systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. Staff told us that the service had an open, inclusive and positive culture.

We found breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.