Holly Oak Care Centre

Updated 24 September 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

One Inspector and an Expert by Experience carried out the inspection. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Holly Oak Care Centre is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Magdalen House is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We considered the feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in December 2021 in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with three people who lived or were staying at Holly Oak Care Centre. We spoke with five relatives about their experience of the care and support provided by the service.

We spoke with eight staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, two nurses, three care workers and a member of the housekeeping team. We also spoke with two representatives of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the management team to validate evidence found.

Updated 24 September 2022

About the service

Holly Oak Care Centre is a residential nursing home providing personal and nursing care to up to 46 people. The service provides support to people living with a diagnosis of dementia or age-related frailty. At the time of our inspection there were 25 people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People and their relatives told us the service was safe and staff responded to their needs safely. There were enough staff deployed to meet people’s needs. Staff told us they had the skills, time and support they needed to meet people’s needs.

Staff had received training in recognising safeguarding and knew the actions to take to protect people from harm. Improvements had been made to recruitment processes which the provider and registered manager used to assure themselves of the good character of staff.

The provider had infection control procedures in place to protect people and prevent the spread of infection. Staff accessed personal protective equipment (PPE) and acted in accordance with government guidance.

People's needs, and choices were assessed, and their care was reviewed regularly. Care records identified people's individual risk and how these should be managed to reduce the risk of harm.

We observed positive interactions throughout our inspection between people and staff. Incidents and accidents were reviewed to reduce the risk of a reoccurrence. Complaints were responded to appropriately and opportunity was made to identify and make improvements.

People and their relatives spoke positively about the management and the caring culture of staff. The registered manager was supported by the provider.

Mental Capacity Act

Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. Where people were living under Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards; staff understood the support they required.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 25 May 2022)

Why we inspected

This was a focused inspection based on the rating of the service. We followed up on action taken following our April 2022 inspection and the improvements the provider told us they were going to make.

We undertook this focused inspection to check if they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the safe and well led.

This was a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Holly Oak Care Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.