The Place Up Hanley

Updated 7 June 2022

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 following concerns being raised by the local authority. 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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

The Place Up Hanley is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. The local authority shared feedback about their visit to the home with us. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We also asked Healthwatch if they had any information to share. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. They did not have any feedback to share. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We were unable to have detailed conversations with people who used the service due to their needs. We made observations in communal areas to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with six members of staff including care staff and senior staff. In addition to this, we also spoke with the registered manager and deputy manager. We also spoke with two visiting health professionals.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits and building safety records were reviewed. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence found. We looked at policies and procedures, training records and quality assurance records. We also had an interview with the registered manager using a video calling application.

We also spoke with six relatives over the phone to gain their views.

Updated 7 June 2022

About the service

The Place Up Hanley is a care home providing personal care. The home is registered to support up to 51 people. At the time of the inspection there were 30 people living there. The home supported younger and older people, some of the people were living with dementia or other mental health support needs. Some people may also have had physical or sensory disabilities.

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

New quality assurance systems were being introduced however we could not be sure these would always be effective and as they were not yet embedded. The registered manager was honest that the systems were a work in progress. Medicines processes had improved, but some improvements were still needed. Some care plans did not contain enough detail, particularly after incidents had occurred. Some people needed extra support due to their needs and it would be beneficial if more in depth training was offered to staff. Two people did not have the necessary assessments in place regarding their decision-specific capacity, however other people did have this in place. The registered manager was open to feedback and acted on omissions we identified.

People were protected from the risk of infection and were supported to have visitors in line with government guidance. We observed enough staff to support people, although there was some mixed feedback about this. Staff were recruited safely. People were protected from abuse; staff understood their responsibilities and referrals had been made when necessary. Staff received training to be effective in their role and they felt confident. There was mixed feedback about food, however people had sufficient amounts to eat and drink and had a choice. People had access to other health professionals. The home was clean and adapted to meet the needs of those living there.

The provider was receiving support from an external consultant to help the service improve. The registered manager was aware of their duty of candour, although there was some mixed feedback about communication within the service from relatives. Relatives and staff were positive about the registered manager, they felt the service had improved and staff felt more supported. People were supported with their individual needs. The registered manager worked in partnership with other organisations and had responded to local authority feedback in order to make improvements.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 12 April 2021) and there were breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions safe, effective and well-led which contain those requirements. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection these were inspected at to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained requires improvement, however there are no longer any breaches of regulations.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Place Up Hanley on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress.