CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Hillcroft
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- People were protected from avoidable harm, and inspectors found enough staff available to support people, including when they wanted to go out. Medicines were stored securely and records had no gaps.
- Effective?
- Good
- Staff had training, supervision and support. People's health, nutrition and communication needs were assessed, and staff worked with health professionals when needed.
- Caring?
- Good
- People were treated with dignity and respect. Staff knew people well, listened to them and supported them to make choices about their care and daily lives.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Care was personalised around people's needs, preferences and communication styles. People had access to activities, trips, sensory experiences and opportunities to maintain relationships.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The home had a positive atmosphere and staff felt supported. Regular audits, staff meetings and feedback from people and relatives were used to monitor and improve the service.
What inspectors found, June 2019
Hillcroft rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with improvements since the previous inspection.
This was an unannounced inspection by two inspectors on 05 June 2019. They spoke with staff, a visiting practitioner, people living at the home and relatives. They also observed care and checked support plans, medicines records, audits, surveys and accident records.
The home was rated Good overall and Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines arrangements, respectful care, suitable activities and support that promoted choice, independence and access to health care.
The previous inspection, published in June 2018, rated the home Requires Improvement. Concerns then included staffing, medicines, records and support for the registered manager. At this inspection, inspectors found the necessary improvements had been made.
Respectful care
Staff protected people's privacy and dignity. They knocked before entering rooms and supported people in a calm and respectful way.
“People were treated with respect. We heard staff speak with people in a respectful manner and observed them knocking on people's doors before entering their rooms.” from the report
Choice and activities
People were supported to choose their food, activities and how they spent their time. Inspectors found more opportunities to go out than at the previous inspection.
“People had access to a range of activities and there was evidence that people were going out more since our last inspection.” from the report
Larger than current best practice guidance
minorThe home is registered for up to 10 people and is larger than most domestic-style homes. Inspectors said the size had not negatively affected people, but this is still something to consider for your relative.
“The service is a large home, bigger than most domestic style properties.” from the report
- 01How many staff are on duty during the day and night, and how do you cover hospital appointments and trips out?
- 02How are medicines records checked now, following the medicines concerns at the previous inspection?
- 03How do you make sure each person's support plan reflects their current needs, signs of distress and preferences?
- 04Has the planned extra sensory room been created, and have the kitchen changes been completed?
- 05How do people choose activities and communicate what they want to do each day?
This was an unannounced planned inspection that looked at the home, the care provided and all five CQC questions. This explanation was written from the published report of 20 June 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, June 2018
Hillcroft was rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind, personalised care, but problems with staffing, medicines and records.
Inspectors made an unannounced visit on 25 April 2018. They spoke with or observed five people, a relative, managers and support staff. They also spoke with four relatives after the visit and checked care plans, medicines records, training records, audits, complaints and accident records.
The home was clean and staff understood safeguarding, risks and infection control. People received kind care, were supported to make choices and were helped to stay active and involved in their community. Food, healthcare, communication and care planning were generally effective.
There were not always enough staff to respond promptly or support people to go out. Medicines checks were not fully reliable. Some records were incomplete or not understood by staff, and new communication technology was not yet working. There was no registered manager in place, although the manager was applying to register.
The overall rating Requires Improvement means the home was not consistently meeting the expected standard. Safe and Well-led were rated Requires Improvement, while Effective, Caring and Responsive were rated Good.
Kind and respectful care
People were generally treated with kindness and respect. Staff adapted their communication to people's individual needs.
“People were cared for by individual staff who showed them care, attention and kindness.” from the report
Promoting independence
People were encouraged to take part in everyday tasks such as preparing food, doing laundry and helping around the home.
“People were encouraged to do things for themselves and make their own decisions in the care.” from the report
Personalised activities
People could choose how to spend their time and were supported with work, social activities, swimming, church activities and relationships.
“People's care plans reflected their care needs and wishes and they were supported to maintain an active and social life.” from the report
Clean and safe environment
The home was clean, equipment was maintained and fire safety checks were completed.
“Hillcroft was a clean and hygienic place for people to live.” from the report
Choice and health support
People helped choose their food and were supported to access health professionals. Decisions were recorded in line with the Mental Capacity Act.
“Decisions about people were made in line with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act.” from the report
Staffing and access to outings
needs fixingStaffing was sometimes too low for people to receive prompt attention or go out when they wanted. One person waited 20 minutes for a drink, and another spent much of the afternoon without going out.
“We saw, on the whole, that there was sufficient staff around however we did find there were times when people had to wait for care” from the report
Medicines checks
seriousMedicines processes were not robust enough. Inspectors found an unlabelled medicine, no body map for a pain patch and end of life medicines that were not included in routine counting checks.
“We found a medicine for one person with no name on the prescription label to identify who it was for.” from the report
Incomplete records
needs fixingSome records did not contain enough information, and staff did not always understand why they were completing them. Fluid charts had no targets and drinks were not totalled.
“Two people were on fluid charts, however we noted that targets were not recorded and staff were not totalling up how much a person drank each day.” from the report
Technology not in use
minorThe home had introduced tablets and an interactive whiteboard to support communication and choice, but the whiteboard was not connected and staff had been slow to use the technology.
“although the whiteboard had been installed several weeks ago it was not operational as the provider's technology team had not yet connected it.” from the report
- 01What staffing level is now available on each shift, and how do you make sure people can go out when they wish?
- 02What checks now confirm that every medicine is correctly labelled, recorded and counted?
- 03How are pain patches recorded, including where they are applied and when the position is changed?
- 04What has been done to improve fluid charts and make sure staff understand the records they complete?
- 05Is the interactive whiteboard now working, and how is the technology being used to support each person's communication and choices?
This was an unannounced inspection covering all five key questions and the overall rating, based on observations, discussions and records reviewed. This explanation was written from the published report of 8 June 2018 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 Hillcroft
3 rated inspections over 3 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- June 2019Goodcurrent ratingup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2018Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- February 2016GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- October 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- October 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- October 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- October 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 27 October 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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