25 October 2022
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Hart Care is a residential care home providing the regulated activity of personal and nursing care to up to a maximum of 54 people. The service provides support to older people. At the time of our inspection there were 30 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Since our last inspection, the provider had taken action to ensure the service was now well led. A new management team was in place who had the skills, knowledge and experience to perform their roles and improve the quality of care provided. The quality of the service people received was monitored and audited to help ensure it was consistently good.
Improvements had been made in how the service managed people’s medicines. People’s medicines were now administered safely and as prescribed for them. Staff received medicines training and had their competencies checked to ensure safe practice. Medicine audits and checks were in place to identify and issues or concerns. However, we made a recommendation in relation to ensuring best practice is followed in relation to medicines given through a patch on people's skin.
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. However, we made a recommendation with regards to records relating to mental capacity assessments and best interests’ decisions.
Risks to people were regularly assessed with measures in place to mitigate them. However, we made a recommendation about updating care plans and risk assessments to ensure they reflect actions taken to manage risk.
People told us they were happy living at the service, they felt safe, and staff treated them with respect and kindness. Staff understood the importance of safeguarding people wherever possible from poor care and harm. When staff had any concerns about people, they knew where to escalate and report these concerns.
Staffing levels were sufficient to meet people's needs and staff were recruited safely.
Staff were being supported to complete a new mandatory training programme and refresher courses, to ensure they had the skills required to complete their roles. The induction training was also being improved and aligned to the Care Certificate.
The provider had infection control procedures in place to protect people and prevent the spread of infection. Staff accessed personal protective equipment (PPE) and acted in accordance with government guidance.
Staff told us they felt supported by the managers and provider and morale within the staff team had improved.
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 requires improvement (published 20 August 2021)
The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.
At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions safe, effective and well-led which contain those requirements.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.