Hulton Care Centre is a two storey detached house in a quiet location close to the centre of Middleton. It is registered to provide accommodation for up to 30 people who require personal or nursing care. At the time of our inspection there were 25 people living in the home. This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection, which took place on 19 May 2016.
During this inspection, we found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This was because there were not robust recruitment procedures in place.
You can see what action we have told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.
Systems for recruitment of staff were not always safe. One staff file did not contain any references and two other staff files did not detail a full employment history, including a written explanation for any employment gaps.
Arrangements were in place to ensure people’s rights and choices were protected when they were unable to consent to their care and treatment in the service. Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The service was working within the principles of the MCA. However Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisations could not be located during our inspection, but were found following the inspection and subsequently seen by the inspection team.
The service had a registered manager in place. 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. People who used the service and staff were complimentary about the registered manager and said the service was well run.
The registered manager and staff knew people well and were able to tell us about their likes and dislikes and how people liked support to be provided. Staff were patient, reassuring and friendly in their interaction with people who used the service.
People told us they felt safe at Hulton Care Centre. Policies and procedures were in place to safeguard people from abuse and staff had received training in safeguarding vulnerable adults. Staff were able to tell us how to identify and respond to allegations of abuse. They were also aware of the responsibility to ‘whistle blow’ on colleagues who they thought might be delivering poor care to people.
Safe systems were in place for the management and administration of medicines. People had access to a range of health care professional to ensure their health needs were met.
There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs and staff received the induction, training, support and supervision they required to be able to deliver effective care.
Risks to people’s health and wellbeing were identified and direction was given to staff on how to reduce or eliminate those risks. Care records were detailed; person centred and contained good information about people’s support needs, preferences and routines. Care records were reviewed regularly. People who used the service and their relatives had been involved in planning and reviewing the care provided.
All areas of the home were clean. Procedures were in place to prevent and control the spread of infection. Systems were in place to deal with any emergency that could affect the provision of care such as utility failures. Personal emergency evacuation plans had been developed and regular checks were in place to ensure staff were aware of the action they should take in the event of a fire at the service.
People told us that they enjoyed the food. We observed the food to be plentiful and well presented. Systems were in place to help ensure people’s nutritional needs were met. We observed people being appropriately supported to eat their meals.
The was a complaints procedure for people to use if they wanted to raise any concerns about the care and support they received. There was a system in place to record complaints and the service responses to them. People were confident that they would be listened to and action would be taken to resolve any problems they had.
We saw that the service had a range of policies and procedures to help guide staff on good practice. Staff told us they felt supported and enjoyed working for the service.
There was a system for gathering and acting upon people’s views and suggestions about the service and how it could be improved. There were systems in place for assessing, monitoring and reviewing the quality of the service.