• Care Home
  • Care home

Hollie Hill Care Home

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Durham Road, Stanley, County Durham, DH9 6QZ (01207) 280948

Provided and run by:
Tamaris Healthcare (England) Limited

Report from 24 September 2024 assessment

Ratings

  • Overall

    Good

  • Safe

    Good

  • Effective

    Good

  • Caring

    Good

  • Responsive

    Good

  • Well-led

    Good

Our view of the service

Hollie Hill is a care home providing accommodation, personal and nursing care to 51 people at the time of the assessment. The service supports older people, some of whom were living with dementia. The service can support up to 62 people. We visited the service for our assessment between 02 October 2024 to 07 October 2024. We gave feedback to the provider on 09 October 2024. The assessment was undertaken in response to risks raised with us. The service has been rated good following this assessment. Staff, people and relatives all raised the issue of the use of agency staff and at times they felt staffing was short. Staff told us it was “always busy” at the service but if agency were used due to sickness or illness then staff felt they couldn’t always meet people’s needs in a timely way. People said they sometimes had to wait a short time for support. We observed the service was busy, but there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Leadership at the service had not been consistent over the last 2 years, the new manager had only been at the service for 3 months. People and the staff team told us they felt supported by the regional managers. Staff, people and professionals said the new manager was accessible and listened to them. The service had recognised there had been significant issues with catering at the service and they were in the process of recruiting and supporting a new catering team. Feedback from people about the quality of food was still mixed. The environment was clean and well maintained and equipment was available to support people using the service short term to enable them to return home after hospital stays. Staff had a good understanding of people’s needs, and we saw lots of positive interaction between staff, people and relatives. Staff were recruited safely and attended appropriate training. People were supported with their health and care needs.

People's experience of this service

People and relatives we spoke with were positive about the care staff who worked at the home and said they were caring and dedicated. However, concerns were raised regarding the use of agency staff. One relative said, “The staff here are wonderful, they know her. I hate it when agency is on because they don’t know her.” Some people told us they felt there wasn’t enough staff at key times and sometimes they had to wait to receive personal care. People told us they received their medicines on time. People gave us mixed views about the quality of the food and about activities but said they felt able to raise any concerns with the service’s management team. People told us their choices were respected and upheld, even if those choices were unwise. Relatives and friends told us they were warmly welcomed when visiting, were given relevant updates and felt involved in decisions about their relative’s care and support. People said they were supported with decision making and maintaining their independence.