Hill Lodge

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs. The registered manager told us, “People are at the centre of everything we do.” We observed that staff were flexible and adaptable to people’s changing needs to ensure the care they provided was always person centred. We asked staff what providing person centred care meant to them, they said, “People are all treated as individuals from when and how they get up, to the activity they want to do that day. We adapt the care to suit to them.” Relatives told us staff provided person-centred care to their loved ones. One relative said, “We’re very happy. My [close family member] had a stroke and staff very kindly brought [person] up to see them. On [person’s] birthday they took them to London Zoo, and they’ve taken [person] on holiday.” Another relative said, “We feel that the key staff really understand [person]. [Person] can become bored really easily, staff keep [person] occupied and busy encouraging them to help about the house, with laundry, cooking and tidying up. But also, they make sure [person] plays games and has fun.

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity. Staff understood the importance of working closely with a range of professionals to ensure care was joined up. This included access to doctors, paramedics, district nurses, learning disability specialists and speech and language therapist. Staff understood the needs of autistic people and people with a learning disability and worked to ensure typical barriers faced by people were removed or mitigated against. The registered manager told us, “We make sure people have the opportunity to live a fulfilled life. We look at their abilities and promote their independence and encourage them to be more involved in the community. I have plans to assist people into work or college if they want to do so such as gardening projects in the future.”

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. Staff understood people’s communication styles and information was available in a variety of formats including easy read, picture cards and Makaton sign language. Support plans and records were recorded in a number of different ways in line with students’ requirements for meaningful communication and decision-making. The provider was following the Accessible Information Standard (AIS).

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. People’s views were sought by using their preferred communication methods including during daily support, in meetings with their keyworker, and during house meetings. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result. The registered manager told us, “We have just started holding a ‘Voice for all’ meeting where residents get together to give us their views about what they want and how the service is running.” Relatives told us staff involved them in decisions about the service and they felt listened to. One relative said, “If there was anything I was not happy about, I would speak up. I always feel listened to.” A professional told us, “The home evidence’s different tools to try and promote resident inclusion about daily and care decisions.”

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this. Staff and managers expressed a commitment to ensuring people did not face discrimination and had equal opportunities. Staff treated people as individuals and made reasonable adjustments for anyone that needed them. Staff understood how the Equality Act applied to their role. One staff member said, “We support people who become distressed particularly when faced with changes in routine or unfamiliar situations. To ensure they have the same access and opportunities as everyone else, we made several reasonable adjustments. We worked closely with the individual, other staff and the individual’s family to create a structured routine and used visual schedules to help them. Staff are trained to recognise early signs of distress, de-escalation techniques. These adjustments helped the resident engage in activities and daily routines, providing them with the same opportunities for socialisation and participation as others in the home.”

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this. Staff and managers expressed a commitment to ensuring people did not face discrimination and had equal opportunities. Staff treated people as individuals and made reasonable adjustments for anyone that needed them. Staff understood how the Equality Act applied to their role. One staff member said, “We support people who become distressed particularly when faced with changes in routine or unfamiliar situations. To ensure they have the same access and opportunities as everyone else, we made several reasonable adjustments. We worked closely with the individual, other staff and the individual’s family to create a structured routine and used visual schedules to help them. Staff are trained to recognise early signs of distress, de-escalation techniques. These adjustments helped the resident engage in activities and daily routines, providing them with the same opportunities for socialisation and participation as others in the home.”

People were not always supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life. Although end of life care was not required at this time, we found some people did not have end of life plans in place. The registered manager told us, “Planning for the future and end of life is a piece of work that I am starting. I will be getting funeral planning information for the home and also for my relative’s group. We will have a guest speaker in to talk to families on how this can be arranged in the most respectful way to make it as easy for people as possible.” Staff told us people were nearing the age they would experience the menopause. However, they had not yet had any discussions with the person to ensure they understood and could make any plans for their future in terms of the treatments available to them and how they would like to be supported. One staff member said, “Some people have had blood tests to check in they're going through the menopause. Planning for the future would be the next question. We’ve not had to deal with that here yet, but we would contact another home to see what they have done.”