The Heights Care Home

The Heights Care Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 36 people. The service provides support to older people. At the time of our inspection there were 19 people using the service.

The care home accommodates people in one adapted building across two floors. There are communal living areas, bathrooms and dining spaces. The home also has a garden with several seating areas.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The provider and registered manager had made several improvements to infection, prevention and control, auditing and care planning since our last inspection and were continuing to work to action plans they had in place. Staff also told us of the improvements that had been made which included improved communication in the service and strategies for managing people’s oral care and skin integrity.

People had their needs assessed prior to using the service, care plans and risk assessments were regularly reviewed and updated to reflect any changes in people’s needs. Staff worked with external professionals to reduce the risks they had identified. Records demonstrated that appropriate referrals had been made when people had experienced a deterioration in their health.

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.

Staff spoke about the people they supported with respect and understanding. Relatives were happy with how staff treated people and staff had a good understanding of how to ensure the care they provided was individualised.

The service had an activities coordinator in place who provided a range of activities and relatives told us people were supported to keep in touch with them, we saw evidence that staff had supported people with regular visits and phone calls.

The provider and manager had a comprehensive quality assurance system in place which ensured all aspects of the service were regularly audited. The management team were passionate about the service and committed to providing a safe and good quality service, they shared with us the improvements they had made to improve people’s outcomes.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 1 October 2021). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the care of people using the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

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

The Heights Care Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 29 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The Heights Care Home can accommodate up to 33 people in one adapted two-storey building.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Infection prevention and control practices were not of an acceptable standard. The premises were generally tired and worn. A home improvement plan was in use in the home. The aim of the plan was to record issues in the home and the action planned to address these issues, by when the issues would be addressed and by whom. This information was not always recorded in the plan. The manager and staff responded quickly to some of the issues identified during the inspection.

Risks to people were mostly identified and managed. Care plans included clear guidelines for staff to follow to best meet a person’s needs. People’s medication was managed and administered safely. Staff followed guidelines for the safe use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and supplies of PPE were plentiful.

Complaints, concerns and compliments were addressed when received.

People were supported by staff who knew them and experienced positive interactions. People were involved in identifying their preferred activities. Staff supported people according to their individual preferences and facilitated people to make day to day choices. Care plans identified how people preferred to communicate. Resources were available for staff to use when supporting people whose first language is not English. Visiting procedures at the home followed current government guidance.

Care plans were person centred. People were supported to have 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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

This service was registered with us on 21 September 2020 and this is the first inspection.

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was requires improvement, published on 14 October 2019.

Why we inspected

The inspection was carried out to support the decision making process in response to the application for a new registered manager and to assess the quality and safety of the service.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

We have identified breaches in relation to keeping people safe from infection and good management oversight of the service at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.