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CQC report explained · a residential care home, run by Hillcrest & Lyndale Care & Support Services

2 Hill Close

2 Hill Close, Pontefract, WF8 2SF

Requires improvementpublished 5 December 2023, 2 years ago

Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the service was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.

The five questions inspectors ask
Safe?
Requires improvement
Inspectors found inconsistent cleaning, missing fridge checks, no hand-drying facilities, no fire extinguishers and hot radiators without a risk assessment. Medicine support, safeguarding systems and recruitment checks were found to be safe.
Effective?
Good
This question was not inspected during this focused inspection. The report does not give a current rating for it.
Caring?
Good
People told inspectors they were happy. Staff were kind and knew the people they supported. People were involved in choices about their care, activities and personal space.
Responsive?
Good
This question was not inspected during this focused inspection. The report does not give a current rating for it.
Well-led?
Requires improvement
The home's monitoring and audit systems had not identified or dealt with safety and staffing problems in good time. Inspectors also raised concerns about terminology and whether people were being fully empowered to develop their independence.
The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, December 2023

2 Hill Close was rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind, person-centred care but serious shortfalls in safety and management.

This was an unannounced focused inspection. Inspectors visited on 24 October 2023 and also gathered information afterwards. They spoke with people and staff, observed care, and checked care, medicine, staffing, recruitment and management records.

People told inspectors they were happy and appeared relaxed with staff. Care was caring and person-centred. People made choices about their activities, rooms and daily lives, and were supported to take part in community activities.

However, inspectors found problems with infection control, fire safety, hot radiators and staffing information. The home's checks and audits had not identified or dealt with these problems quickly enough. The overall rating changed from Good at the previous inspection to Requires Improvement. Safe and Well-led were rated Requires Improvement, while Caring remained Good.

What inspectors praised
  • Kind and person-centred support

    People appeared relaxed with staff and received care that reflected their needs and choices.

    People told us they were happy living at 2 Hill Close and we observed that people were relaxed in the company of staff and others they lived with.from the report
  • Choice and community life

    People chose their own activities and took part in trips and activities in the local community.

    People choose their own activities and if they want to stay in and do their own thing that's up to them.from the report
  • Medicines support

    Medicine records were completed correctly, checks were recorded and staff had suitable training.

    Medicine administration records were completed correctly and outcomes of audits and spot checks were recorded.from the report
  • Safeguarding and recruitment

    The home had safeguarding systems, staff training on protecting people from harm, and appropriate recruitment checks.

    The provider operated safe recruitment processes and undertook appropriate pre-employment checks on staff including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks and reviewing references.from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • Infection control and cleanliness

    serious

    Cleaning was not consistent. Fridge temperatures and food opening dates were not recorded, and there were no hand-drying facilities in the toilet or kitchen.

    Some areas of the home were not clean and there was limited evidence of consistent management oversight to ensure compliance with service policies.from the report
  • Fire and radiator risks

    serious

    There were no fire extinguishers, and some radiators were very hot without radiator covers or a risk assessment. Inspectors found this increased the risk that people could be harmed.

    There were no fire extinguishers in 2 Hill Close.from the report
  • Unclear staffing arrangements

    serious

    No staff were present when inspectors arrived. Rotas and dependency tools did not clearly show the shared night staffing arrangement across the three buildings.

    When we entered the location, there were no staff present on-site.from the report
  • Weak management checks

    serious

    The home's audits and monitoring did not identify or resolve infection control, risk assessment and staffing problems promptly.

    The provider's systems did not always effectively monitor the quality of care provided to drive improvements.from the report
  • Respectful language and independence

    minor

    Inspectors said some terminology was not respectful or empowering. They also found limited evidence that the home helped people develop skills such as cooking, cleaning and shopping.

    The registered manager referred to people as "Our rezzies" which meant residents.from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01What has been done to provide fire extinguishers and manage the risk from hot radiators?
  2. 02How are cleaning, fridge temperatures, food opening dates and hand-drying facilities now checked?
  3. 03How are staff rotas and dependency tools being corrected so that staffing is clear across the three buildings, including at night?
  4. 04What evidence can you show that management audits now identify and fix safety problems promptly?
  5. 05How will you help people build independence skills such as cooking, cleaning and shopping, and ensure staff use respectful language?

This was a focused inspection of Safe, Caring and Well-led only; Effective and Responsive were not inspected, and their ratings were not given in this report. This explanation was written from the published report of 5 December 2023 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.

The story over the years

Every inspection of 2 Hill Close

3 rated inspections over 9 years: the service has slipped, from Good to Requires improvement.

  1. December 2023Requires improvementcurrent ratingdown from Good
    Safe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement

    Read what inspectors found at 2 Hill Close

  2. November 2017Goodstayed Good
    Safe: GoodCaring: GoodWell-led: Good

    We are reading this report · the original is on cqc.org.uk

  3. March 2015Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: OutstandingResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  4. July 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  5. November 2012

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  6. April 2011

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 11 April 2011.

Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission. A service can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections, not every contact the CQC has had with the service.

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Same provider

Other services run by Hillcrest & Lyndale Care & Support Services Limited

3 other services on the CQC register. A pattern across a group tells you more than one report.

Hillcrest

Pontefract, WF8
Requires improvement
Residential
Rated 2 years agoReport explained

1 Hill Close

Pontefract, WF8
Requires improvement
Residential
Rated 2 years agoReport explained

Lyndale

Pontefract, WF7
Good
Residential
Rated 7 years agocare home
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Other care homes near Pontefract

1 Hill Close

Pontefract, WF8 · 0.0 km
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Hillcrest

Pontefract, WF8 · 0.1 km
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Rated 2 years agoReport explained