Hillside

Updated 12 January 2024

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Hillside is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Hillside is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours' notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We observed how the staff interacted with people and how each person reacted to them, including body language and facial expressions, this helped us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with 2 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 6 staff members including the regional manager, registered manager, deputy manager and support workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included both people's care records. We looked at 2 staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

Updated 12 January 2024

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 assessment and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

About the service

Hillside is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 2 people. The service provides support to younger adults with learning disabilities and autistic people. At the time of our inspection there were 2 people using the service. Hillside is a purpose-built bungalow, the service has a communal bathroom, a lounge and dining area and a large accessible garden.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

Right support:

Staff were recruited safely, there were sufficient numbers of staff with the necessary training to support people safely and meet their needs. People were protected from the risk of abuse and relatives told us they felt the service was safe. Risks to people and staff had been assessed and people's care plans were regularly reviewed and updated.

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:

Care plans provided information about people's choices and preferences, we found detailed information to guide staff on how to support people with their daily routines. Staff training was relevant and up to date and included specific training to meet people’s individual needs. People were supported to access healthcare and staff had a good understanding of guidance external professionals had provided.

Right Culture:

People were fully included and respected by staff at Hillside. Staff understood people and were skilled at supporting them to make choices. People were supported to pursue hobbies of interest to them and maintain relationships with their friends and relatives. The provider and registered manager had a robust quality assurance system in place which ensured all aspects of the service were regularly audited, findings from these audits were shared with staff to drive improvements when required.

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 the service under the previous provider was good (published 17 September 2018).

Why we inspected

This service was registered with us on 22 February 2022 under a new provider and this is their first inspection.

Follow Up

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