Hamilton Lodge

Hamilton Lodge is a residential care home providing accommodation for 8 people who require nursing or personal care at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 8 people.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Right Support

Hamilton Lodge provided care and support that maximised people’s choice, control and independence. Systems were robust enough to demonstrate people’s safety was managed effectively. There were sufficient staff to ensure people were supported to participate in activities of their choice. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Right Care

People told us they were happy and safe at Hamilton Lodge. Care at Hamilton Lodge was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. People were empowered to make decisions about their which enabled them to live independent lives. The registered manager and staff put people's needs and wishes at the heart of everything they did.

Right Culture

The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the registered manager and the care staff ensured people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives. There was a learning culture at the service which improved the care people received. The registered manager was knowledgeable about the service and the people who lived there. They had a clear vision for the service and created a culture of high quality support that empowered people to live their best lives.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 18 October 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service, specifically, the time elapsed since the last full inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Hamilton Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

At this unannounced inspection on the 19 September 2017 we found the service remained Good. The service met all relevant fundamental standards.

Hamilton Lodge is a care home for younger people with a learning disability. It can accommodate up to eight people. All eight rooms have en-suites facilities. There was a communal lounge and kitchen and accessible well managed gardens. The service is situated in Doncaster, close to local amenities. At the time of our inspection there were six people living at the service.

The service did not have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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. However, the provider had appointed a new manager who was commencing the process to register with CQC.

People received care and support from staff who understood how to keep them safe. Staff understood how to protect people from abuse and were clear about the steps they would need to take if they suspected someone was unsafe. Staff were available to meet people's needs and understood how to best support people and the risks to their well-being. People were supported by staff to receive their medicines as prescribed and checks were made to ensure staff supported people with their medicines appropriately.

Robust recruitments procedures ensured the right staff were employed to meet people’s needs safely. At the time of the inspection there was sufficient staff on duty to meet people’s needs.

Staff understood they could only care for and support people who consented to being cared for and throughout the inspection we saw people supported to communicate their choices. Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People received adequate nutrition and hydration to maintain their health and wellbeing. The premises were suitably designed and furnished for providing care and support to people with a learning disability.

People were treated with respect. People and their relatives told us staff were kind and very caring. Staff demonstrated a good awareness of how they respected people’s preferences and ensured their privacy and dignity was maintained. We saw staff took account of people’s individual needs and preferences while supporting them.

The provider promoted people's personal interests and hobbies. Social activities were organised in line with people's personal interests and there was a lively atmosphere at the service. People also received one to one support for activities in the community and had an organised holiday each year if this was their choice.

There had been a number of different managers since our last inspection, but feedback form people and their relatives was that the service was well-led. People had the benefit of a culture and management style that was inclusive and caring. Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities and had access to policies and procedures to inform and guide them.

A system was in place for checking the quality of the service using audits, satisfaction surveys and meetings. We found the environment could be improved and saw the quality monitoring had identified this and it was being addressed.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.