CQC report explained · a residential care home, run by Voyage

Hamilton Lodge

Carr House Road, Doncaster, DN4 5HP

Goodpublished 25 November 2023, 2 years ago

Rated Good: inspectors found the service performing well and meeting their expectations.

The five questions inspectors ask

Safe?: Good; Inspectors found effective systems for managing risks, safeguarding people and learning from incidents. Staffing, recruitment, medicines and infection control were also found to be safe.
Effective?: Good; The report does not give a rating or detailed findings for this question.
Caring?: Good; Staff treated people with kindness, dignity and respect. People were involved in decisions about their care, routines, food and activities.
Responsive?: Good; The report does not give a rating or detailed findings for this question.
Well-led?: Good; Inspectors found an open, positive culture, effective management checks and a manager who understood the service and regulatory requirements.

The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, November 2023

Hamilton Lodge rated Good; inspectors found safe, caring and well-led support, with no breaches reported.

Inspectors visited without notice on 6 and 9 November 2023. They spoke with seven people using the service and six staff. They observed care and reviewed care records, medicines records, staff files and management checks.

The home supported eight people with learning disabilities and autistic people. Inspectors found that people were safe, treated with kindness and supported to make choices and live as independently as possible. Staff numbers were sufficient and medicines were managed safely.

The home had a positive culture and effective checks on the quality and safety of care. The overall rating was Good. Safe, Caring and Well-led were also rated Good. The report does not give ratings for Effective or Responsive.

What inspectors praised

Choice and independence
People were supported to make decisions about their routines and activities. They were also helped to develop skills and take part in managing the home.
“Hamilton Lodge provided care and support that maximised people's choice, control and independence.” from the report
Safety systems
The home had systems to identify and manage individual risks. Staff knew what to do about possible abuse, and incidents were reviewed for learning.
“The provider had maintained an effective system to identify, assess, monitor and manage individual risks arising from people's conditions and choices.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
People described feeling safe and happy. Staff supported people with dignity, privacy, family contact and activities that mattered to them.
“Care at Hamilton Lodge was person-centred and promoted people's dignity, privacy and human rights.” from the report
Positive leadership
Inspectors found an open culture, regular staff meetings and effective checks on care quality and safety. The home also worked with healthcare professionals.
“There was a learning culture at the service which improved the care people received.” from the report

What inspectors were concerned about

Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.

Questions to ask them, based on this report

01How will you involve my relative in decisions about their care, daily routine, food and activities?
02What personalised support is in place if my relative needs diabetes care, including blood testing and recording food intake?
03How can people living here take part in activities, work placements, training or environmental checks?
04How do you review incidents and make sure lessons learned lead to changes in care?
05How will you support my relative to keep in contact with family and continue their usual interests?

This was an unannounced full inspection, with visits on 6 and 9 November 2023; the report gives ratings for Safe, Caring and Well-led, but not for Effective or Responsive. This explanation was written from the published report of 25 November 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 Hamilton Lodge

3 rated inspections over 8 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.

November 2023Goodcurrent ratingstayed Good
Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
Read what inspectors found at Hamilton Lodge →
October 2017Goodstayed Good
Safe: GoodCaring: GoodWell-led: Good
We are reading this report · the original is on cqc.org.uk
August 2015Good
Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Good
Read this report on cqc.org.uk
July 2014
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 3 July 2014.

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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