Hawkinge House

At the time of our inspection there were 92 people using the service. Some people rented their accommodation and had tenancy agreements with Hawkinge House Limited. These people could choose which organisation provided their care, but they all chose to receive their care from staff employed by Hawkinge House. Everyone living at the service was entitled to the same level of 24-hour care, therefore we included everyone living in the service in our inspection. The accommodation was arranged across three floors, with lift access to the upper floors.

There were enough staff deployed to provide safe care for people and the provider was in the process of recruiting additional staff to support and improve social engagement and offer a wider range of activities for people.

People told us they felt safe living in the service and liked living there. Relatives told us their loved ones were safe living in Hawkinge House. One relative said, "We couldn't ask for anything better. Staff are polite, friendly, caring and always smiling."

Risks to people were managed. The provider had appropriate infection control measures in place and medicines were managed safely. Risk assessments and care plans had been recently reviewed and were up to date. Staff knew the people they were supporting well and had read the care plans. Staff had attended additional training in person centred care.

The provider had quality assurance processes in place and had introduced additional audit activity to monitor the quality of the service provided. A recent survey had been sent to people and relatives, but results had not been received or analysed at the time of our inspection.

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.