Archived: Holmlea Care Home

Updated 13 December 2019

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

The inspection was completed by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. 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

Holmlea Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

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

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We used information we held about the home which included notifications that they sent us to plan this inspection. We also used the completed Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with eight people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, deputy managers, carers, and the chef. We also spoke with three visiting healthcare professionals and a fourth professional on the telephone.

We reviewed a range of records. These included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at one staff file in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, were reviewed.

After the inspection

We asked the provider to send us further information related to staff training and they did this.

Updated 13 December 2019

About the service

Holmlea Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 40 people. At the time of the inspection there were 31 people in one adapted building which was organised across 4 wings. There were several communal areas, refurbished bathrooms and outside spaces.

Improvements had been made in some areas of the home and the care people received since our last inspection but the systems to monitor and continuously improve quality required further development. People were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff didn’t always support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service were not always implemented fully.

The systems in place to manage medicines were not always applied correctly. Outcomes from concerns raised were not always shared in a timely manner to ensure learning from them was embedded promptly. Individual preference and need was not always considered at mealtimes; however, at other times people did receive kind care which upheld their dignity.

There were now enough staff to support people safely and they were recruited to ensure that they were safe to work with people. People were protected from the risk of harm and plans were in place for staff to follow which were regularly reviewed.

People were encouraged to be independent and staff understood their needs well. They were supported to maintain good health and for some people clear goals were set with other organisations. Creative activities were provided to engage people and keep them linked to their community.

There were meetings in place which encouraged people and staff to give their feedback. People and relatives knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint.

The environment was adapted to meet people’s needs. There was a refurbishment programme in place to continue to improve it.

More information is in the full report.

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 26 October 2018). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to continue to make improvement. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.