Archived: Hooton Chase

Updated 23 February 2016

‘We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.’

This inspection took place on 17 and 23 November 2015 and was unannounced.

The inspection was carried out by an adult social care inspector.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. We reviewed notifications of incidents that the registered provider had sent to us since the last inspection and information we received from members of the public, healthwatch, infection control and the local authority. We were provided with an infection control audit and a monitoring report, which had been carried out by the infection team from the local NHS foundation trust.

During the inspection we spoke with four people who lived at Hooton Chase and a visiting health care professional. We spoke with the manager and three members of staff. We reviewed three people’s care records in detail and observed how staff interacted with people in the communal areas. We also looked at four staff files and records relating to the management of the service including, policies and procedures, maintenance records and health and safety certificates.

Updated 23 February 2016

We carried out an unannounced inspection of Hooton Chase on 17 and 23 November 2015.

Hooton Chase is a detached property providing care for up to 12 people with learning difficulties. The building is arranged across two floors with a central staircase. There are 12 single rooms located across the ground and first floors. Parking is available at the front of the building.

There has not been a registered manager in post since March 2015. An application is being processed for a new registered manager. 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.

The last inspection of Hooton Chase was carried out in October 2013 and we found that the service was meeting the regulations we reviewed.

At this inspection we found a number of breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. The registered provider did not have a policy or procedure in place to ensure that the Mental Capacity Act was implemented. People were restricted from leaving the service on their own to ensure their safety and this had not always been done in line with the legal requirements.

People were not being supported to manage their own monies and the registered provider did this on their behalf. There was no evidence that people’s consent had been sought regarding this matter.

The views of people and their relatives were not actively sought and people were not involved in decisions about the service. People were not involved in day to day decisions regarding the running of the service including menu planning, grocery shopping and the replacement of communal items.

There were insufficient staff employed at the service with a high reliance on permanent staff agreeing to work extra shifts, which meant the registered provider could not demonstrate that people were safe. Staff had not attended all necessary training and were not supported in their roles.

Incidents were recorded however people’s care plans or risk assessments had not been reviewed or updated following these incidents. This meant that risks to people had not been considered and when appropriate, minimised.

The building was in need of repair due to a leak in the roof and concerns regarding severe condensation within a person’s bedroom. The registered provider did not demonstrate that consideration had been given to the risks to people. Two ensuite bathrooms were awaiting refurbishment.

Monitoring systems were not effective in identifying areas for improvement and as a result, people’s safety and the service they received was compromised.

Emergency procedures were inadequate to ensure people’s safety. Routine checks on the services fire detection and management systems had not been completed. Not all staff were aware of what action they should take in the event of an emergency, placing them and people at risk of harm.

The overall rating for this service is ‘Inadequate’ and the service is therefore in ‘Special measures’.

Services in special measures will be kept under review and, if we have not taken immediate action to propose to cancel the provider’s registration of the service, will be inspected again within six months.

The expectation is that providers found to have been providing inadequate care should have made significant improvements within this timeframe. If not enough improvement is made within this timeframe so that there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures to begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service. This will lead to cancelling their registration or to varying the terms of their registration within six months if they do not improve. This service will continue to be kept under review and, if needed, could be escalated to urgent enforcement action. Where necessary, another inspection will be conducted within a further six months, and if there is not enough improvement so there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall, we will take action to prevent the provider from operating this service. This will lead to cancelling their registration or to varying the terms of their registration.

For adult social care services the maximum time for being in special measures will usually be no more than 12 months. If the service has demonstrated improvements when we inspect it and it is no longer rated as inadequate for any of the five key questions it will no longer be in special measures.