Hamilton House Care Home

The assessment was planned as a result of concerns we had received. We carried out a comprehensive assessment in February 2023 and the care home was rated good. At this assessment, we found the provider was in breach of legal regulations relating to safe care and treatment and good governance. As a result, the rating has changed to requires improvement.

People were not routinely protected from potential harm, risks were not always identified and mitigated in a timely manner. People were at increased risk of infection or ill health due to poor environmental hygiene and safe food storage. People were at increased risk of receiving the wrong care as care plans contained contradictory information. Records relating to people’s care did not always demonstrate they were supported in line with care plans to ensure they were not exposed to greater risk of harm.

We found the manager and provider had not routinely identified some of the concerns we did. Although some risk assessments had been completed, they did not mitigate all risks to people. In addition, where audits were carried out and action was identified this was not always completed in a timely manner or if completed was repeated at a later date. We found learning from events needed to be fully embedded to ensure people were safe and protected from potential harm.

However, the manager of the service was respected by people, their relatives and staff. People received personalised care and they were able to make their bedroom homely.

People were supported by staff who had been recruited safely and had a good understanding on how to protect people from abuse. However, we found records regarding recruitment needed improvement to ensure the home held all the required documentation on safe recruitment.

People were supported with their prescribed medicines and referred to external healthcare professionals in a timely manner.

We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.