Holdingham Lodge

Updated 15 December 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was conducted by two inspectors.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in two supported living’ settings on the same site, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because some of the people using the service could not consent to a home visit from an inspector. This meant the provider had time to prepare people using the service.

What we did before the inspection

In planning our inspection, we reviewed information we had received about the service. This included any notifications (events which happened in the service that the provider is required to tell us about) and feedback from the local authority.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection

As part of the inspection we spoke with six people who use the service and three relatives. We emailed staff a questionnaire regarding their experience of working at the service. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, service manager, team leaders, support worker and an administrator.

We contacted health care professionals involved with people using the service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and multiple medicines records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. 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 provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 15 December 2021

About the service

Holdingham Lodge is a community supported living service. Personal care and support are provided for adults who experience needs relating to learning disabilities and autism. The service is made up of two buildings on the same site, Holdingham Lodge and Holdingham House. Each person has a tenancy agreement in place. At the time of the inspection there were 11 people being supported at the service.

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

People receiving care from the service had a variety of complex needs. Their families told us that they felt safe and were cared for by experienced caring staff team who knew their relative well.

The provider and registered manager had systems and processes in place to safeguard people from harm and abuse. Staff completed training in safeguarding and how to report concerns. Risks to people’s safety were assessed and strategies were put in place to reduce the risks.

People were protected from the risk of infection. Staff took part in regular testing for COVID -19. However, some staff were observed to not be wearing masks appropriately during the inspection.

There were sufficient staff to meet the needs of the people at the service. New staff were being recruited to fill any vacant posts.

Staff received an induction and ongoing training that enabled them to have the skills and knowledge to provide safe and effective care. People were supported to safely manage their medicines by trained staff.

People were supported to live healthier lives and staff helped them to access healthcare services when required. We saw that the service worked closely with healthcare professionals to ensure good outcomes for people.

Staff were kind and caring and provided people with warm, person-centred care. Staff understood people’s individual care needs and preferences and used their knowledge to provide people with good quality care.

Staff were supported well by the management team and enjoyed working at the service.

There were systems and processes in place to ensure the quality of the service. The registered manager ensured actions were taken to make improvements when needed.

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.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of right support, right care, right culture.

The service ensured that people were living as full a life as possible, achieving their best possible outcomes. Families and professionals told us that people at the service were living more independently than they had at previous placements and were receiving more opportunities in a supportive environment.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 7 September 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection following registration.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.