Hoylake Cottage

Updated 19 January 2021

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.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 08 January 2021 and was announced.

Updated 19 January 2021

The inspection of Hoylake Cottage took place on 24 and 25 January and was announced on the first day.

During our last inspection of the service we found a breach of Regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 because people's medicines were not always managed safely. During this inspection we found that improvements had been made to the management of medication but there was room for further improvement.

Hoylake Cottage is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Hoylake Cottage provides accommodation with nursing or personal care for up to 62 people in a purpose built facility.

The service is required to 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. The home had a registered manager who was supported by a clinical nurse manager.

All of the people we spoke with said they felt safe at Hoylake Cottage. We observed that the premises were clean and people had spacious and well-appointed bedrooms with en-suite toilet and shower. Maintenance contracts were in place for premises and equipment and some regular safety checks were carried out, however there remained room for improvement in this area.

There were enough staff to meet people's needs and the staff we spoke with were friendly and helpful. We looked at the personnel files of three staff. All files had appropriate application forms with references and appropriate criminal record checks. This meant that the provider had ensured staff were safe and suitable to work with people at risk of abuse or neglect prior to employment. The files also showed that new staff had a robust programme of induction training. The service had an in-house trainer and an annual programme of staff training and development was in place.

Everyone said they got enough to eat and drink, and people were satisfied with the quality of the food. People received the support they needed to maintain their nutrition and hydration.

The service complied with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to ensure that people were protected when their capacity to make decisions was impaired.

People told us they could make choices about their daily routines and that their privacy and dignity were respected at all times. Everyone was very complimentary about the attitude of the staff and about the care provided. Visitors were made welcome at any time. A programme of stimulating social activities was in place.

The home's complaints procedure was displayed in the entrance area and records showed that complaints were responded to appropriately and constructively. The management style was open and inclusive and significant progress had been made in taking the service forward. The quality of the service was monitored continuously by means of quality audits, satisfaction questionnaires, and regular meetings of various groups.