Archived: Hinton Grange

Updated 20 June 2017

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.'

This inspection took place on 18 May 2017, was unannounced and was undertaken by two inspectors and an expert by experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We looked at this and other information we hold about the service. This included information from notifications the provider sent to us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law.

Prior to the inspection we made contact with the local authorities who commission people’s care, including social workers. This was to help with the planning of the inspection and to gain their views about how people’s care was being provided.

We spoke with 11 people, three relatives and a friend of a person using the service. We also spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager, clinical lead, four care members of staff, the chef and the maintenance person.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We looked at five people’s care records, medicines administration records and records in relation to the management of staff and the service.

Updated 20 June 2017

Hinton Grange is registered to provide accommodation and nursing care for up to 60 people. At the time of our inspection there were 45 people living at the service. The service is a two storey premises located on the outskirts of Cambridge. The service has a cinema room, communal lounges and dining areas on each floor and all bedrooms are single rooms with an en-suite toilet and washbasin.

This unannounced comprehensive inspection was undertaken by two inspectors and an expert by experience and took place on 18 May 2017. At the previous inspection in 22 November 2016 the service was rated as ‘Requires Improvement’. At this inspection we found that improvements had been made and that these had been sustained.

A registered manager was in post at the time of the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (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.

Staff had been trained on how to keep people safe from harm as well as being knowledgeable about to the reporting procedures regarding any incidents of harm. Organisations responsible for investigating safeguarding were made aware of incidents in a timely manner to help assure people’s safety. Accidents and incidents were identified and acted upon when required.

Risks to people had been identified and processes and systems were in place to manage these risks effectively. This reduced the risk of people being exposed to any potential of harm.

People’s nursing and care needs had been assessed and we found that a sufficient number of appropriately recruited and suitably skilled staff were in post to safely meet these needs.

Medicines were administered and managed safely by staff whose competency to do this had been assessed. Where medicines’ administration recording errors had occurred, action had been taken to help ensure that people were safely supported with their prescribed medicines.

Staff had been trained in a variety of subjects such as dementia care, safeguarding, infection prevention and control and food hygiene. Staff, as a result of their training and support from management, had the necessary care skills to meet people’s health and nutritional needs. People were enabled by staff to access support from external health care professionals in a timely manner.

The CQC is required by law to monitor the Mental Capacity Act 2005 [MCA] and to report on what we find. People were supported to have choice and control of their lives. People's ability to make day-to-day and more complex decisions about their care and welfare were assessed by staff. Restrictions on people’s liberty had been determined as being in their best interests or in the least restrictive way possible such as the use of bed rails. Appropriate applications to deprive people of their liberty had been made and when agreed, authorisations were in place to lawfully deprive people of their liberty.

People were looked after by staff who showed people compassion and respected their privacy and dignity.

People, their relatives or legal representative were enabled to be involved in identifying, determining and planning the review of their care.

People were supported to be as independent as they wanted to be where this was safe. People took part in a variety of hobbies, interests and pastimes. This stimulated people and prevented the risk of social isolation as well as helping them to maintain current skills.

There were effective systems in place to gather and act upon people’s suggestions and concerns. Actions taken in response to people’s concerns were effective in preventing these becoming a formal complaint. This was as well as helping prevent the potential for any recurrence.

The registered manager was supported by a deputy manager, a clinical lead, nursing and care staff, as well as catering and maintenance staff. Staff had the support mechanisms in place that they needed to fulfil their role effectively.

The registered manager and provider had notified the CQC about important events that, by law, they are required to do. People, their relatives or representative and staff were involved and enabled to make suggestions to improve how the service was run. Quality monitoring and assurance processes were in place. Improvement actions identified were acted upon.