Holly House

Updated 6 December 2023

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.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Holly House 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. Holly House is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

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 sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us 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

During the inspection we spoke with 2 people who used the service and 3 relatives about their experience of the care provided. Not everyone who used the service communicated verbally or wished to speak, therefore we received permission to speak with their relatives on the telephone. We spoke with 7 members of staff including the registered manager, regional manager, 4 support workers and 1 housekeeper.

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 reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people’s care records and multiple medicines records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including training information and policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 6 December 2023

About the service

Holly House is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 8 people with Autism Spectrum condition. At the time of our inspection there were 7 people using the service.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

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

Right Support

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.

People were supported to make choices. They had opportunities to be part of the community. A relative told us, “[Name] goes out a lot, they enjoy going out for lunch and to the shops.”

There were sufficient staff to support people safely. People were supported to access specialist health and social care support.

Records gave guidance to staff so people received care that was tailored to each individual.

We have made a recommendation about a more regular system of review of risk assessments and associated care plans.

Staff followed infection prevention policies. However, some carpets were marked, and areas of the building were showing signs of wear and tear.

We have made a recommendation a programme of refurbishment should take place.

Right Care

Care was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity and human rights.

Relatives were complimentary about the care provided by staff. They trusted the staff who supported them. Relatives said staff were kind, caring and supportive of people and their families.

Staff had received safeguarding training and were clear on how and when to raise their concerns. Where appropriate, actions were taken to keep people safe.

Staff followed effective processes to assess and provide the support people needed to take their medicines safely.

Right Culture

The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people lead confident and empowered lives.

Staff spoke positively about working at the service and the people they cared for. Staff said they were supported in their role.

A governance system was in place to monitor the quality of the service through audits and feedback received from people, their relatives, staff and external agencies. Processes were in place to manage and respond to complaints and concerns.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was good (published 13 June 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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

Recommendations

We have made recommendations about more regular review of people’s risk assessments and care plans and refurbishment of the environment.

Follow up

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