CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Hazeldene
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors found enough staff, suitable recruitment checks, detailed risk assessments and safe medicines management. The home was clean and accidents and incidents were reviewed.
- Effective?
- Good
- Care plans were detailed and staff had training for people's complex needs. The home worked with health professionals and supported people with food, drink, healthcare and decision-making.
- Caring?
- Good
- People were treated with dignity, privacy and respect. They and their representatives were involved in care decisions, and staff supported independence and personal identity.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Support and activities were personalised to people's interests, communication needs, relationships and cultural or personal choices. This rating fell from Outstanding at the previous inspection.
- Well-led?
- Requires improvement
- The registered manager did not always review or sign off audits and records, so they did not have a full overview of the service. The provider completed the outstanding checks after the inspection, but inspectors had not seen enough evidence that this was consistent and established.
What inspectors found, November 2019
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, but the home's management checks needed improvement.
This was an unannounced inspection on 11 October 2019. The inspector spoke with three people, five staff and three professionals. They also observed care and checked care records, medicines records, staff files and management records.
The home supported 10 people with learning disabilities and related health needs. Inspectors found that people were safe, treated with kindness and supported to make choices. Medicines were managed safely, staff were trained, and care was planned around people's individual needs.
The home was rated Good overall. Safe, Effective, Caring and Responsive were all rated Good. Well-led was rated Requires Improvement because the registered manager had not consistently checked audits and records. The provider supplied evidence after the inspection that the checks had been completed, but inspectors could not yet confirm that this improvement was established over time.
Safe risk planning
Risks were recorded clearly, including what staff should do to prevent harm and what to do if a risk occurred. Emergency evacuation plans reflected people's individual needs.
“People had an individual emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs), that reflected their specific needs, related to mobility, support and communication.” from the report
Safe medicines
Staff had current medicines training and competency checks. Records showed medicines were given as prescribed, and people were treated respectfully when taking them.
“Medicines Administration Records (MARs) demonstrated that people had received their medicines as prescribed and in line with their medicine plans.” from the report
Choice and dignity
Staff involved people in decisions and respected their privacy, communication styles and personal choices. People were encouraged to develop independence.
“Staff consistently treated people with dignity and respect and maintained their privacy.” from the report
Personalised activities
Activities were based on people's interests and needs. The home supported relationships, community involvement and personal identity, including cultural, religious, sexuality and gender identity needs.
“The service worked exceptionally well to prevent isolation and a deterioration in mental well-being.” from the report
Good professional support
The home worked with GPs, dietitians, speech and language therapists, specialist nurses and other professionals to respond to changing health needs.
“Professionals advised, "The service very promptly responds to people's changing and specific needs.” from the report
Management checks were not consistent
needs fixingThe registered manager had not always reviewed or signed off audits, including medicines, infection control and behaviour records. This meant they did not always have a complete overview of the home.
“These required reviewing by the registered manager, however this was not always done.” from the report
Some reviews were overdue
needs fixingSome care and health documents had not been reviewed by their planned dates. The provider completed the reviews after the inspection, but inspectors wanted to see that the process stayed reliable.
“We did find that not all care documents had been reviewed in line with the provider's annual review dates and discussed this with the provider.” from the report
People's records were accessible
minorPeople's files were kept in a lockable office but were accessible on a bookshelf. Families may wish to ask how records are now kept secure.
“However, people's records were retained in an office that although was lockable, their files were accessible on a bookshelf.” from the report
- 01How are medicines, infection control and other audits now reviewed and signed off by the registered manager?
- 02How do you make sure care plans and health assessments are reviewed by their planned dates?
- 03What evidence can you show that the improved audit system has continued consistently since the inspection?
- 04How are people's care records kept secure and protected from unauthorised access?
- 05How will you maintain the personalised activities, community involvement and support for people's relationships?
This was an unannounced planned inspection covering all five key questions; the inspection visit was on 11 October 2019 and follow-up information was reviewed up to 16 October 2019. This explanation was written from the published report of 19 November 2019 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
What inspectors found, May 2017
Good overall; inspectors found safe, kind and effective care, with Outstanding support tailored to people's lives.
This was an unannounced, comprehensive inspection on 11 April 2017. The inspector spoke with six people living at the home and five staff. They observed care and a staff handover, and checked support plans, medicines, complaints, incidents, recruitment records and quality checks.
The home supported nine people with learning disabilities and had places for up to ten. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines practice, regular risk checks and suitable recruitment processes. People were supported by trained staff and had access to health professionals.
People were treated with respect and involved in decisions about their care. Inspectors rated the home Outstanding for being responsive because support was highly personalised and helped people build independence, activities and family relationships.
The overall rating was Good, as were Safe, Effective, Caring and Well-led. The home had been rated Good at the previous inspection and remained Good.
Personalised support
Support plans reflected people's preferences, lifestyles and goals. People were involved in making and reviewing these plans.
“Support plans were extremely detailed and were reviewed regularly with any changes being documented clearly and communicated to staff.” from the report
Help with relationships
Staff worked hard to help people build or rebuild family relationships, including preparing them for reunions and supporting them afterwards.
“Some people had been supported to find family they had either not had contact with previously or had lost contact with.” from the report
Quality monitoring
The home used regular checks and audits covering areas such as medicines, fire safety and infection control. Deficits were followed up.
“There was a system in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are my relative's support plan and risk assessments reviewed, and how are changes communicated to all staff?
- 02How will you support my relative's personal goals, independence and preferred activities?
- 03How do you support people to maintain important family relationships, including where contact may be difficult?
- 04How are medicines checked, and how often are staff assessed as competent to manage them?
- 05What has changed at the home since this inspection in April 2017?
This was an unannounced, comprehensive inspection covering all five CQC questions and the overall rating. This explanation was written from the published report of 16 May 2017 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of Hazeldene
3 rated inspections over 5 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- November 2019Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- May 2017Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Good
- March 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- January 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- February 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 8 December 2010.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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At least 100 live-in carers within about an hour of Reading
These are self-employed carers on PrimeCarers, the introductory agency that runs this directory. Each has a profile with their own rates and reviews from families, and you choose who to talk to.
Most charge £1,010 to £1,270 a week. 86 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.
“The quality of life that she's given my parents has been priceless. The peace of mind she's given my sisters and I, through a very difficult time, has been invaluable.”
“I can truly say that Peter always put Dad at the centre of everything and I know that they found a great friendship in difficult times.”
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