Archived: Hulton Care Nursing Home (Nelson)

Updated 18 May 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 checked 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 1 and 2 April 2015 and was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service, including notifications and adult safeguarding information. We also received information from Lancashire County Council’s Adult Social Care Procurement Centre. The provider sent us a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection, we used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people who lived in the home. We spoke with eight people who used the service and two relatives. We spoke with the manager, four members of the care team and the cook. We also discussed our findings with a relief manager, who was acting as a mentor for the manager of the home.

We looked at a sample of records including four people’s care plans and other associated documentation, ten people’s medication records, two recruitment files and four staff records, policies and procedures and audits.

Throughout the inspection we spent time in all areas of the home observing the interaction between people living in the home and staff. Some people could not verbally communicate their view to us. We therefore used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us to understand the experiences of people using the service who could not talk with us.

Updated 18 May 2015

We carried out an inspection of Hulton Care Nursing Home (Nelson) on 1 and 2 April 2015. The first day of the inspection was unannounced.

We last inspected this home 10 February 2014 and found the service was meeting the regulations in force at that time. During this inspection we made a recommendation about the implementation and use of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

Hulton Care Nursing Home (Nelson) is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 30 older people. Accommodation is provided in 30 single bedrooms, all of which have an ensuite facility. There is a separate unit to care for older people living with a dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 25 people accommodated in the home. The home does not provide nursing care.

A manager was in post and they had begun the process to register with the commission. 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 told us they felt safe and were well cared for in the home. Staff knew about safeguarding and we saw concerns had been dealt with appropriately, which helped to keep people safe.

We found the arrangements for managing people’s medicines were safe. We found accurate records and appropriate processes were in place for the storage, receipt, administration and disposal of medicines.

We found staff recruitment checks had been completed before a member of staff started to work in the home. Staff had completed relevant training for their role and they were well supported by the management team. There were a sufficient number of staff on duty to meet people’s needs.

Staff were aware of people’s nutritional needs and made sure they supported people to have a healthy diet, with choices of a good variety of food and drink. People could help themselves to any item from the snack trays at any time they wished.

All people spoken with told us the staff were caring, compassionate and kind. We saw that staff were respectful and made sure people’s privacy and dignity were maintained.

All people had a care plan which covered their needs and any personal preferences. We saw the plans had been reviewed and updated at regular intervals. This meant staff had up to date information about people’s needs and wishes.

We saw there was a system of audits in place to monitor the quality of the service and people and staff were given opportunities to express their views and provide feedback on the service.