CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Hill House Nursing Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors found effective safeguarding, risk management, staffing, medicines and infection control arrangements. They noted a deficit of permanently employed nurses, but regular agency staff were booked in advance.
- Effective?
- Good
- People’s needs and choices were assessed and reviewed. Staff were trained and supported, and people were helped with nutrition, health care and access to other professionals.
- Caring?
- Good
- Staff knew people well and treated them with kindness, dignity and respect. People were involved in choices about their care and daily lives.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Care was personalised and people were supported to communicate, take part in activities and maintain relationships. The home had arrangements for complaints and end of life care.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The home was managed by a registered manager and had audits and feedback systems to monitor care and make improvements. People, relatives and staff were positive about the management.
What inspectors found, March 2022
Rated Good in all areas; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with some nurses supplied through an agency.
This was the home’s first inspection under its current registered provider. It was unannounced and took place from 31 January to 2 February 2022. Inspectors visited the home, spoke with people, relatives, staff and health professionals, and checked care records, medicines records and management records.
The home was rated Good overall and Good in Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found people were protected from harm, received their medicines safely, and were supported with their health, nutrition and daily care needs.
Inspectors saw staff treating people with kindness, dignity and respect. They found that care was personalised, activities were available, visiting arrangements were managed during COVID-19, and complaints were handled effectively.
The home had a registered manager and systems to check the quality and safety of care. Inspectors noted a shortage of permanently employed nurses, but regular agency nurses had been booked in advance to support continuity and safety.
People felt safe
People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Staff understood safeguarding and people and relatives felt able to raise concerns.
“People were protected from the risk of harm or abuse at the service.” from the report
Safe medicines and care
Inspectors observed medicines being given safely and found accurate care plans for identified risks. Staff supported people with health, nutrition and changing needs.
“People's medicines were safely managed and given.” from the report
Kind and respectful staff
Staff knew people’s preferences and provided care in a kind and respectful way. Inspectors saw staff protecting people’s privacy, dignity and independence.
“We observed staff interacting with people in a caring, kind, respectful manner.” from the report
Personalised support and activities
Care was based on people’s needs and choices. People could join individual and group activities and were supported to keep in touch with visitors.
“People's care and daily living arrangements were individualised in accordance with their needs and choices.” from the report
Strong management systems
The home had regular checks on care, safety, incidents, the environment and equipment. Feedback from people, relatives and staff was used to plan improvements.
“The provider demonstrated effective governance and related management arrangements, to ensure the quality, safety of people's care and continuous service improvement,” from the report
Permanent nurse staffing
minorThere was a shortage of permanently employed nurses. The home used regular agency nurses booked in advance, so ask how this affects consistency of care now.
“There was a deficit of permanently employed nurses.” from the report
Written care plans
minorMost relatives said they had not seen a written care plan, although they were satisfied that care was discussed and agreed with them. Ask how families can view and contribute to the current plan.
“People and most relatives said they had not seen any written care plan, but all were satisfied that care was routinely discussed and agreed in consultation with them.” from the report
- 01How many permanently employed nurses are currently working at the home, and how often are agency nurses used?
- 02How will relatives view and contribute to their family member’s written care plan?
- 03How are changes in a person’s health, nutrition, mobility or skin care recorded and shared with relatives?
- 04What activities are currently available, and how are they matched to each person’s interests and choices?
- 05How are complaints, concerns and smaller day-to-day issues recorded and followed up?
This was an unannounced planned first ratings inspection covering all five key questions, including infection prevention and COVID-19 arrangements, with some records reviewed off site. This explanation was written from the published report of 10 March 2022 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 Hill House Nursing Home
3 rated inspections over 6 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- March 2022Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- July 2018Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- March 2016GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- September 2020
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 7 September 2020.
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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62 live-in carers within about an hour of Derbyshire
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 £1,260 a week. 51 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.
“Ernest is an amazing professional carer who delivers care from the heart.”
“We particularly appreciate the companionship Dawn gives in the evenings when she plays cards and Scrabble with my mother.”
Every carer has had an enhanced DBS check in the last 18 months, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview. Their skills and training are for you to check with them. Carers set their own rates, and who is free changes week to week.