Seven Hills Nursing Home

Updated 1 December 2020

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 care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 9 November 2020 and was announced.

Updated 1 December 2020

This inspection took place on 16 October 2018 and was unannounced.

Seven Hills Nursing Home is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Seven Hills Nursing Home can accommodate up to 28 people who require accommodation and nursing or personal care. The home consists of one adapted building across three floors. At the time of our inspection there were 28 people living in the home.

Our last inspection of Seven Hills Nursing Home took place on 14 August 2017. We rated the service requires improvement. We found there was a breach of Regulation 9 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014; person-centred care. This was because people’s care plans did not always reflect their needs and did not always include their preferences so they were not person-centred. In addition, we found no evidence of activities taking place in the home so people were not offered social stimulation.

Following the last inspection, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do, and by when, to improve the service to at least good. At this inspection we found sufficient improvements had been made to meet the requirements of Regulation 9 and the service had improved to good.

There was a registered manager employed at Seven Hills Nursing Home. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Relatives told us they believed their family member was safe living at Seven Hills Nursing Home. There were enough staff available to meet people's needs in a timely way and to keep people safe. Staff had been trained in how to safeguard vulnerable adults and they had a good understanding of their responsibility to protect people from harm.

People received their medicines as prescribed from staff who had been trained in medicines management. We have made a recommendation about the provider’s policies and procedures for medicines management.

People told us the staff were kind and caring. During this inspection we observed staff treat people with kindness, dignity and respect.

Staff received a range of training which the provider considered to be mandatory. Staff told us they were happy with the training they received and felt it supported them in their roles. Staff were supported by the management team through supervisions and appraisals.

People were asked for consent before care was provided to them. Where people lacked capacity to make certain decisions for themselves, their care records showed decisions had been made in their best interests. People were supported to have maximum choice and control over their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service support this practice.

The service worked closely with community health professionals to support people with their health needs. People's care records evidenced they received medical attention when they needed it, to promote their health.

People were supported to eat a varied diet that met their nutritional requirements. The service had protected mealtimes where all staff supported the provision of the meal service.

A range of individual and group activities were provided within the home and in the local community. Staff clearly knew people’s likes and dislikes and supported them to take part in activities of their preference.

People’s needs were assessed and the support they needed from staff was clearly recorded in their care plan. The home had recently started using a new electronic care planning system and had reviewed all care plans to make them more person-centred.

The registered manager completed regular audits of the service, to make sure action was taken and lessons learned when things went wrong. Effective systems were in place to support the continuous improvement of the service.

People living at Seven Hills Nursing Home, their relatives and the staff were all positive about the registered manager and about how the home was run. We found a welcoming and positive culture within the home.