- Care home
Hill Lodge
Report from 4 March 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 17 to 26 March 2025. Hill Lodge is a care home for autistic people and people with a learning disability. This inspection was promoted due to concerns about the service. Eighteen people were living at the service at the time of our assessment. An assessment has been undertaken of a specialist service that is used by autistic people or people with a learning disability. We have assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.
The provider had not done everything reasonably practicable to keep people safe in their environment. Immediate actions were taken, and this had improved by the end of our assessment. Staff understood and managed risks to keep people safe. They put people at the heart of everything they did. There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience. Staff managed medicines well and involved people in planning any changes. People were involved in assessments of their needs and were involved in decisions about their care. Staff made sure people understood their care and treatment to enable them to give informed consent and if they did not have capacity, involved those who were important to the person when decisions needed to be made in their best interest. People knew how to give feedback and were confident the home took it seriously and acted on it. Leaders were visible, knowledgeable and supportive, helping staff develop in their roles. There was a culture of continuous improvement and governance systems were robust to ensure people received a safe and quality service. Staff were proud to work at Hill Lodge one staff said, “I feel like I’m making a difference to those I support.”
People's experience of this service
Hill Lodge was split across 1 house and 4 bungalows on 1 site. The model supported right support, right care and right culture as staff could provide timely person-centred care based around the needs of the people living in these homes. People were supported by staff who knew them and their needs well. People told their families they were happy and looked forward to returning home after they spent days out. Staff supported people to access the community regularly. We observed staff supporting people to go out on each day of our inspection. Healthcare professionals told us they were impressed by the number of opportunities people had to go out in the community and a relative said, “Staff take [person] out for walks, bowling, swimming, eating out, and to the cinema. I know [person] is happy as when I bring them back [person] makes noises as they get close to the home signifying, they are really happy and likes living here.” Staff treated people with kindness and compassion. They treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences. Staff promoted people’s independence and used their preferred method of communication to seek their views and wishes, however, staff had not always sought people’s future wishes. Relatives told us staff were well trained. One relative said, “[Person] needed new equipment, staff were all happy to be trained to use it. I’m confident they can do it all.” Relatives spoke positively about the service, they knew who to speak to if they had any concerns and felt confident, they would be listened to. One relative said, “I can sleep at night knowing [person] is safe and cared for. I would definitely recommend the service, and I have done to several acquaintances of mine.” Another relative said, “The care is wonderful; I can’t fault the staff. It feels like home. [Person] can’t speak but you can see from their facial expressions, [person] loves the staff and is so relaxed around them.”