CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Hilltop
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- People's medicines, risks and safeguarding arrangements were managed safely. Staffing levels were maintained, but this relied on agency staff while the home worked through recent staffing changes.
- Effective?
- Good
- Care and support generally achieved good outcomes. Staff training was mostly in place, but supervision was not up to date and completion rates for some training areas needed to increase.
- Caring?
- Good
- Staff were kind, respectful and understood people as individuals. People's dignity, independence, choices and religious needs were supported.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Care plans were personalised, accurate and up to date. People were supported with activities, relationships and communication in ways suited to their needs.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The home had systems to monitor quality and act on improvements. Staff and relatives gave positive feedback about the management, although the manager was not yet registered with CQC at the time of the inspection.
What inspectors found, June 2023
Rated Good; inspectors found kind, personalised care, but staffing stability, training and some records still needed attention.
The home provides accommodation and personal care for up to seven autistic people. All seven places were occupied during the inspection. Inspectors visited without notice on 25 May and 1 June 2023. They spoke with relatives and staff, observed care, and reviewed care, medicine, recruitment and management records.
The overall rating was Good, with Good ratings for Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found that people were treated kindly, supported to make choices, and helped to enjoy activities and maintain their independence. Medicines, safeguarding, infection control and risk management were generally handled safely.
There were areas still being improved. The home was working to stabilise staffing after recent changes and reduce its use of agency staff. Staff supervision was not up to date, some training completion rates needed to increase, and people's current DoLS status was not always clear to staff.
Kind and respectful care
Inspectors found that staff knew people well, respected their individuality and promoted their dignity and independence.
“People were supported by staff who were kind, caring and respected their individuality.” from the report
Personalised support
Care plans described people's routines, preferences, communication needs and the support they needed. People were helped to take part in activities they enjoyed.
“People had individual plans to participate in activities they enjoyed.” from the report
Safe medicines
Medicines were administered safely, with clear instructions for medicines taken when needed. Audits were completed and medicine errors were identified and managed.
“Medicines were managed and administered safely. Information described how people preferred to take their medicines.” from the report
Communication support
Staff understood how people communicated and used tools such as pictures, symbols, visual timetables and easy-read information.
“Communication plans described people's methods of communication in detail and gave clear guidance for staff.” from the report
Quality monitoring
The home used audits, meetings and feedback from families, staff and people to monitor care and identify improvements.
“Systems were in place to monitor and assess the quality and safety of the service and make improvements as identified.” from the report
Staffing stability
needs fixingThe home had experienced management and staff changes and relied on agency staff to maintain safe staffing levels. It was working to reduce sickness and agency use.
“The provider was working to reduce sickness levels and agency staff use.” from the report
Training and supervision
needs fixingStaff supervision was not up to date. Training completion needed to improve in safeguarding, fire awareness and positive behaviour.
“Training compliance rates for some areas such as safeguarding, fire awareness and positive behaviour needed increasing.” from the report
DoLS records
needs fixingApplications had been made when needed, but staff could not always clearly see people's current DoLS status in the records.
“People's current DoLS status was not always clear for staff.” from the report
Delayed safety actions
minorSome actions linked to fire safety and maintenance requests had taken longer than expected to complete.
“We highlighted where identified actions in relation to fire safety and maintenance requests had taken some time to complete.” from the report
- 01How has staffing stabilised since the inspection, and how much agency staff is currently being used?
- 02Are all staff now receiving regular supervision and have training completion rates improved in safeguarding, fire awareness and positive behaviour?
- 03How is each person's current DoLS status recorded and made clear to all staff?
- 04Have all the fire safety and maintenance actions identified by inspectors now been completed?
- 05What is the current registration status of the manager with CQC?
This was an unannounced first inspection of the newly registered service and covered all five key questions, including infection prevention and control; the previous provider's last rating was Good. This explanation was written from the published report of 24 June 2023 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 Hilltop
2 rated inspections over 3 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- June 2023Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- April 2020GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- December 2020
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 1 December 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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23 live-in carers within about an hour of North Somerset
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 £1,050 to £1,320 a week. 19 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.
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.