Archived: Hammerwich Hall Care Home

Updated 9 April 2015

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 9 December 2014 and was unannounced.

The inspection was carried out by three inspectors and an expert-by-experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The expert-by-experience on this inspection had an interest in the care of people living with dementia.

The provider had completed a Provider Information Return detailing key information about the service, what they did well and any improvements they planned to make. We also reviewed the information we held about the service and spoke with the local authority quality monitoring officer.

During the inspection we spoke with 13 people who lived at the home and four relatives. We spoke with the registered manager, two senior members of staff and seven members of the care team. We observed care and support being delivered in the communal areas. We also observed people’s lunchtime experience and how they were supported to eat and drink.

We reviewed five people’s care plans and daily records to see how their care was planned, delivered and reviewed. We also looked at staff recruitment files, training records and documentation related to the management of the home.

Updated 9 April 2015

We inspected this service on 9 December 2014. The inspection was unannounced.

The service provides nursing and personal care for up to 39 people. There were 29 people living at the home on the day of our inspection.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

At our inspections in September and October 2014 we found the provider was breaching legal requirements regarding staffing levels. We issued a warning notice and asked the provider to take action to improve staffing levels by 4 November 2014 and this action has been completed.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made. People told us they felt safe and their calls for staff support were responded to in a timely manner. Staff told us they had more time to deliver care and meet people’s needs.

There were processes in place to ensure people received the medicines prescribed for them in a safe manner.

There was a suitable recruitment process in place. Staff completed thorough checks before starting work at the home.

Staff recognised their responsibilities to support people with decision making in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

People who used the service received care that reflected their recorded preferences.

Staff were kind and compassionate to the people who used the service. People told us they felt staff respected their dignity.

People could choose how to spend their time. There was support for people to take part in their hobbies and interests.

There was a complaints procedure in place and people we spoke with felt confident their concerns would be listened to and acted upon.

People and staff we spoke with thought the service was well-led.

There were quality assurance checks in place to monitor and improve the service.