Starr Hills

Updated 1 March 2022

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 16 February 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection.

Updated 1 March 2022

About the service:

Starr Hills is owned by Methodist Homes and offers personal care to older people. Set on two floors all bedrooms are single with en suite facilities. A passenger lift is in place and ramps are situated at exit and entry points. An enclosed garden area is at the front of the home. Registered for 36 People. There were 36 people living at Starr Hills at the time of the inspection visit.

People’s experience of using this service:

The culture of the Starr Hills continued to be extremely caring, compassionate, respectful and empowering which reflected the values of the service. There was a strong recognition that people were treated as individuals. All people who lived at the home and relatives spoke highly of the caring attitude of staff. One person who lived at the home said, “Fantastic place, fantastic caring staff and fantastic manager. What else can I say.”

We observed and found many examples how Starr Hills continued to excel at their responsiveness to people’s needs, choices and wishes. One person who lived at the home said, “It was so refreshing that they let me make my own decisions and went through things together, an excellent home.” Records were extremely personalised with agreed goals to help each person maximise their independence and life-skills. People were assisted to retain their vital family relationships.

It was clear staff morale was excellent and everyone was committed to ensuring people received care and support based on their preferences and life choices.

The staff and management team continued to present as outstanding in the way they worked with each individual to establish their strengths. They empowered people to make their own choices and decisions. This was confirmed by people who lived at the home and relatives we spoke with.

Starr Hills continued to have exceptionally high levels of staffing and skill mixes, which were deployed in innovative ways so they could respond to people’s needs and choices. One person who lived at the home said, “They have a lot of staff around which means when I want to go out or spend time to do things there is always someone available.”

The aim at Starr Hills centred on promoting people’s individual and cultural needs. This included outstanding training to support staff in person-centred care and diversity and understanding so staff were aware of what high standards looked like.

People who lived at Starr Hills and relatives we spoke with felt extremely confident in the management team and how the service operated. They told us excellent staffing levels afforded people responsive and dignified support.

Staff at Starr Hills were highly committed to ensuring people experienced fulfilling lives and were protected from social isolation. The whole ethos of people's care was individualised and focused on promoting people's independence as well as their physical and mental well-being. People were empowered to make their own choices and staff were highly motivated. This meant they were able to achieve very positive outcomes for people.

People who lived at the home told us the quality and choices of food provided was very good. Healthy eating was promoted. Meal times were relaxed and organised around people’s individual daily routines.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice. We found staff worked within the same Mental Capacity Act framework they had at the last inspection by CQC.

People’s care and support had been planned proactively and in partnership with them. They felt consulted and listened to about how their care would be delivered.

Staff responsible for assisting people with their medicines had received training to ensure they had the competency and skills required. People received their medicines as prescribed and when needed and appropriate records had been completed.

They service continued to have good oversight of relevant procedures through monitoring and auditing to ensure people who lived at the home received medication safely.

Risk assessments had been developed to minimise the potential risk of harm to people during the delivery of their care. These had been kept under review and were relevant to the care provided.

The registered manager used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included satisfaction surveys to seek their views about the service provided. Recent surveys only produced positive comments about the home.

More information is in Detailed Findings below.

Rating at last inspection: Outstanding (31 January 2017)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The service remained rated outstanding overall.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme or if any issues or concerns are identified.