CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Hillswood Lodge
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors were assured that infection prevention and control arrangements were safe. This included PPE, testing, admissions, cleaning, social distancing and managing outbreaks.
- Effective?
- Good
- Does the care work? Training, consent, food and drink, working with GPs and nurses.
- Caring?
- Good
- Are people treated with kindness and dignity?
- Responsive?
- Good
- Is care built around the person? Care plans, activities, complaints.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Is the home run well? The manager, the culture, how problems get found and fixed.
What inspectors found, December 2020
Inspected but not rated; inspectors were assured about infection control and found support for visits and contact with loved ones.
This was an announced, targeted inspection on 27 November 2020. It looked at infection prevention and control because of coronavirus outbreaks in care homes.
The inspectors were assured that the home was using PPE safely, supporting testing, following social distancing and shielding rules, and keeping its infection control policy up to date.
Relatives had information about booking visits and cleaning arrangements. People at the end of life could receive visits with PPE, and staff helped people keep in touch through video calls and a private social media platform.
The service was inspected but not rated. This means the report does not give an overall rating or a full rating for all five areas of care.
Clear visiting arrangements
Relatives had been told how to book visits, when visits could happen and how cleaning was carried out between visits.
“A visiting policy was in place, which had been shared with relatives.” from the report
Support for end-of-life visits
Relatives were supported to spend time with people at the end of their life while using PPE.
“Relatives were supported to spend time with people who were being cared for at the end of their life, whilst wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to ensure their visits were safe.” from the report
Keeping people connected
Staff helped people maintain contact with loved ones through video calls and a private social media platform.
“Staff helped people to utilise technology to ensure they continued to have contact with their loved ones such as, video calls and a private social media platform.” from the report
Infection control measures
The home had increased cleaning and changed communal areas to support social distancing.
“Additional cleaning had been implemented to lower the risk of cross transmission and changes had been made to the environment to encourage social distancing in communal areas.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are visits arranged now, and what cleaning and sanitising takes place between visits?
- 02How do you support people to keep in touch with relatives if they cannot have an in-person visit?
- 03What arrangements are in place for relatives who need to visit someone receiving end-of-life care?
- 04How are people supported with activities and social contact if infection control measures restrict communal activities?
- 05How do you currently manage PPE, testing and any infection outbreaks?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control, so the service was inspected but not rated and the report did not assess all five key questions. This explanation was written from the published report of 9 December 2020 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, July 2019
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with a previous medicines storage problem corrected.
This was an unannounced inspection on 3 July 2019. One inspector spoke with people living in the home, relatives, staff and a health and social care professional. They also reviewed care plans, medicines records, staff files and management records.
The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines arrangements, trained staff, suitable food and drink, access to healthcare, and care that respected people's choices, privacy and dignity.
The home had been rated Good overall at the previous inspection, published in January 2017. The Effective rating improved from Requires Improvement because the previous concerns about supporting people with decision making had been addressed.
Safe staffing and medicines
Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs. Medicines were stored safely and administration records were accurate.
“There were enough staff to meet people's needs.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
People said staff were kind and knew them well. Inspectors observed staff checking people's comfort and respecting their privacy.
“We observed kind and caring interactions between people and staff.” from the report
Personalised support
Care plans recorded individual needs and preferences. People could make choices about their routines and activities.
“People received care which was personalised to their needs.” from the report
Positive leadership
The home had an open, person-centred culture. Management involved people, relatives and staff and used audits and feedback to make changes.
“The service had a positive person-centred culture. Both people and staff told us the registered manager was approachable, the service worked in partnership with others and engaged people and staff.” from the report
Recent medicine-room temperature problem
minorThe temperature in the medicine room had recently gone above the recommended level. The home corrected this and sought advice from a pharmacist, so inspectors did not report an ongoing medicines safety failure.
“There was a recent incident where the temperature inside the medicine room had gone above the recommended temperature.” from the report
- 01How do you now check and record the temperature in the medicine room?
- 02What further changes are planned to make the environment more dementia friendly?
- 03How are people's individual choices and preferences kept up to date in their care plans?
- 04What activities and community visits are currently available for residents?
- 05How would you involve our relative and family in planning end of life care?
This was an unannounced planned inspection covering the overall service and all five CQC questions, including the premises and care provided; the previous inspection had rated the service Good overall. This explanation was written from the published report of 26 July 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.
Every inspection of Hillswood Lodge
3 rated inspections over 4 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- December 2020Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
- July 2019Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- January 2017Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- December 2015Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- January 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- August 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2010
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 10 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 Staffordshire
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 £980 to £1,230 a week. 85 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
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