The Hamiltons Care Home

Updated 18 November 2020

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.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 06 November and was announced.

Updated 18 November 2020

About the service

The Hamiltons is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 18 people. At the time of the inspection 18 people were using the service. The home has bedrooms and communal rooms including bathrooms on the ground floor; on the first floor further bedrooms and bathrooms are situated. It has a passenger lift between the floors and a large stair case at each side of the building for easy access between both floors.

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

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 protected from abuse. Staff understood how to recognise and report any concerns they had about people's safety and well-being.

People’s needs were assessed before starting with the service. People and their relatives, where appropriate, had been involved in the care planning process.

The provider followed safe recruitment processes to ensure the right people were employed. Staff training included an induction and ongoing training to ensure staff had the knowledge and skills they required to meet people's needs. There was enough staff to keep people safe.

Risks to people’s health and wellbeing were assessed and mitigated. People's medicines were managed safely. The home was clean, and staff followed procedures to prevent the spread of infections.

People received food and drink of their choice. When required, people were supported to access healthcare professionals and receive ongoing healthcare support. People were supported to share their views and shape the future of the care they received.

Care plans provided staff with the information they needed to meet people's needs. People could choose how they wanted to spend their time and a variety of activities were offered to people. People were supported to receive end of life care in the way that they wanted and met their individual needs.

Staff worked with other agencies to provide consistent, effective and timely care. We saw evidence that the staff and management worked with other organisations to meet people’s assessed needs.

Staff had formed genuine relationships with people and knew them well and were seen to be consistently caring and respectful towards people and their wishes.

The provider and registered manager followed governance systems which provided effective oversight and monitoring of the service.

The premises were homely and well maintained. We observed a relaxed atmosphere throughout the home where people could move around freely as they wished.

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 21 February 2018). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has changed name, however all the staff remained the same. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

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.