We carried out a review of the data available to us about Hastings Lodge & Hastings Cottage on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Hastings Lodge & Hastings Cottage, you can give feedback on this service.
We found the following examples of good practice.
¿ Safe arrangements were in place for visitors to the service including health professionals and relatives. When infection rates reduced, indoor visits took place in people’s rooms with risk assessments in place. Those stopped when infection rates increased again and the situation is closely monitored.
¿ There was a clear contingency plan in place which was used in the event anyone tested positive for Covid-19. This supported the registered managers review all necessary actions, identified areas of responsibility and who took the lead on these.
¿ There was a regular programme of Covid-19 testing in place for staff and people living in the service. This meant swift action could be taken if anyone received a positive test result.
¿ People using the service were able to self-isolate in their rooms if this was necessary. For anyone who struggled to remain in their room, appropriate alternative arrangements were in place. This meant people’s needs were taken into account to find the best way to keep everyone safe.
¿ The activities coordinator and staff undertook activities with people to keep everyone occupied and engaged. For example, there had been a variety of themed days such as Rainbow Day when people wore rainbow colours. A Hallowe'en party was taking place on the day of the inspection visit.
¿ There was a stable staff team who did not work in any other care settings. No agency staff were used in the service. This meant the risk of cross infection was reduced.
¿ Staff were seen to wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and there were sufficient stocks of masks, aprons, gloves and hand sanitiser available. There were posters and information about Covid-19 on display throughout the service, including picture and easy read versions.
¿ Enhanced cleaning schedules were in place including high touch areas such as door handles and hand rails. An extra member of domestic staff had been employed during the pandemic to ensure all areas were kept clean and disinfected. This reduced the risk of infection spread.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.
Hastings Lodge & Hastings Cottage is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for 14 people with Dementia, mental health, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. Hastings Lodge & Hastings Cottage accommodates 14 people across two properties.
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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Improvements were required to medicine administration recording and auditing processes.
People told us they felt safe, listened to and well cared for by staff who knew them well and respected them as individuals. People felt the houses were a homely environment and had been involved in the decoration.
Care plans and risk assessments identified people’s needs and were written with people’s involvement and consent. People were supported to take risks when appropriate. However, we found some gaps in recording for oral care and in some daily notes. The registered manager agreed to rectify these issues.
Staff understood safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures and felt confident to raise any concerns to the registered managers. Any complaints had been dealt with appropriately and in a timely manner. The registered managers fed back all actions required to the relevant people and shared learning with staff.
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 supported to maintain healthy lifestyles and referrals were made to healthcare professionals as required. People’s dignity and privacy was respected at all times.
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.
Managers were available and accessible to everyone. Staff felt supported and had received appropriate training for their roles. There were enough staff on duty to ensure people could access activities and attend appointments.
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 13 May 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.
People continued to receive safe care. Staff were appropriately recruited and there were enough staff to provide care and support to people to meet their needs. People were consistently protected from the risk of harm and received their prescribed medicines safely.
The care that people received continued to be effective. Staff had access to the support, supervision, training and ongoing professional development that they required to work effectively in their roles. People were supported to maintain good health and nutrition.
People developed positive relationships with the staff who were caring and treated people with respect, kindness and courtesy. People had detailed personalised plans of care in place to enable staff to provide consistent care and support in line with people’s personal preferences. People knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint and the provider had implemented effective systems to manage any complaints that they may receive.
The service had a positive ethos and an open culture. The registered manager, and the deputy manager, were visible role models in the home. People and their relatives told us that they had confidence in the manager’s ability to provide consistently high quality managerial oversight and leadership to the home.
This unannounced inspection took place on 21 April 2015. Hastings Lodge and Hastings Cottage is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 14 people, including older people and people with sensory, physical and learning disabilities.
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.
People were protected from receiving unsafe care. The recruitment procedures carried out at the home protected people from being cared for by staff that were unsuitable to the work in a caring environment. The staff were appropriately trained and had the knowledge and experience to meet people’s needs.
The staff had a good understanding of what constituted abuse and were knowledgeable of the safeguarding reporting procedures.
Safe systems were in place for obtaining, storing, administering and disposing of medicines.
Staff followed strict protocols when giving medicines to people prescribed to be given when required (PRN).
The managers and staff where knowledgeable about the codes of practice relating to the Mental Health Act (MCA) 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).
People received a varied, healthy and nutritious diet and people at risk of not receiving adequate nutrition where encouraged by staff to follow a healthy diet. Relevant healthcare professionals were also involved in promoting good health and wellbeing.
People’s care plans reflected their needs and choices about how they preferred their care and support to be provided. The care staff were attentive and responded in a timely way to people’s requests. They understood their duties and carried them out effectively. Their manner was friendly and they encouraged people to retain as much independence as their capabilities allowed.
People were supported to engage in occupational and recreational activities, within the home and the community.
Systems were in place to continually monitor the quality of the service. The managers and staff listened to and acted upon what people said, including the views of people’s relatives or other representatives. Complaints were appropriately investigated and action was taken to make improvements to the service when this was found to be necessary.
At the time of our inspection 10 people lived at Hastings Lodge and two people lived at Hastings Cottage. We spoke with four people who used the service who told us that they were happy living at the service. Because of the nature of their disabilities, they were not able to tell us in detail about their experiences. Our summary is based on the views of people who used the service, observations during the inspection, speaking with staff supporting people who used the service, the registered manager and from looking at records. If you want to see the evidence supporting our summary please read the full report.
During the inspection we sought answers the five key questions below:
Is the service safe?
People told us that they felt safe. Staff had received training in safeguarding vulnerable adults, understood the different types of abuse and their responsibilities for reporting any concerns about the treatment of people who used the service.
Is the service effective?
People's health and care needs were assessed and plans of care developed according to their needs which helped staff to deliver appropriate care. From our observations and discussions with staff, we concluded that staff had a good knowledge of each person's care needs and preferences. This meant that staff were able to support people effectively.
Is the service caring?
We saw that people were treated with dignity and respect by the staff. People who used the service were relaxed in the presence of staff and responded positively to them. People who used the service told us that they got on well with the staff and we heard staff talk about people in a caring and supportive manner.
Is the service responsive?
We saw that staff were available to support people who used the service and that they were responsive to signs that they may need assistance. Staff had responded to the changes in one person's needs by updating the care plan and delivery of care following a hospital admission.
Is the service well-led?
We found that overall the service was well managed. The provider had taken action since our last inspection to make the improvements required in record keeping and accessibility of complaint procedures.
Discussion with staff and people who used the service confirmed that they had confidence in the manager.
We did find a record of an incident that had not involved any injury but should have been reported to the adult safeguarding team. This had not been done until identified by the inspector. We were satisfied that the manager was in the process of changing the recording of incidents to reduce the risk of issues being missed when monitoring.
We found that people were supported to maintain their independence and community involvement and received care and treatment that met their needs. We found that the homes were clean and free from unpleasant odours and staff were supported to obtain professional development which helped them in their roles. We found that the complaints procedure was not made accessible to people who used the service and records relating to the care and support people required were not always maintained and kept up to date.