Hollybank House

Updated 26 January 2024

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

The inspection was carried out by an inspector, a specialist advisor (a nurse specializing in older people’s care), 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

Hollybank 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. Hollybank 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.

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 not a registered manager in post. The manager had applied to register and we are currently assessing this application.

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 also used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 23 May 2023 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We sought feedback from the local authority, professionals who work with the service and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. 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 of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection we spoke with 6 people who used the service and observed how care and support was delivered. We received feedback from 3 relatives and 8 staff. We spoke with the manager, deputy manager and the provider’s operations manager. We looked at a range of records including all or part of 4 people's care records and how medicines were managed for people. We looked at staff training, and the provider's quality auditing system. During the inspection visit we asked the provider to give us additional evidence about how the service was managed, which they sent to us. We also received feedback from 3 health and social care professionals.

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.

Updated 26 January 2024

About the service

Hollybank House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 45 people in one adapted building. The service provides support to younger adults and older people primarily with physical health needs, and to people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 39 people using the service.

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

People felt safe living at Hollybank House, and relatives also felt their family members were supported safely. People and relatives also told us they felt the consistency of staff was important in making them feel safe and welcomed. Staff understood how to recognise and report concerns or abuse and told us they felt confident to speak up. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s health and social care needs and knew how to support them. There were enough staff to keep people safe.

People’s needs were assessed and reviewed with them and (where appropriate) with relatives, and any risks associated with health conditions documented. People received their prescribed medicines safely. The provider had a system in place to learn from incidents. The manager and staff described a ‘no blame’ approach, where incidents were seen as opportunities for everyone to learn and improve.

Risks associated with the service environment and use of equipment were assessed and mitigated. The service was kept clean and people were protected from the risk of an acquired health infection.

There were no restrictions on people welcoming visitors to their home. People, relatives and staff all described a family-oriented environment where visitors were always welcome. One relative said, “It’s a friendly place; it’s small and very family orientated. It’s comfortable and has a homely feel.” 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.

The service was well-led and had a positive, caring culture. People’s needs and wishes came first, and staff both told us this and demonstrated it in the way they supported people. Staff felt supported to do their jobs well. Staff felt able to ask for extra training and support to enable them to provide better quality care. One staff member said, “Staff love the job, and this gives good consistent quality of care for people and allows us to really get to know people well.”

People and relatives said they felt involved in the home and what went on there. People and relatives told us they felt able to raise concerns or make suggestions for improvement and felt confident they would be listened to. The provider undertook audits of all aspects of the service to review the quality of care. These were effective in identifying areas where improvements were needed.

Staff worked well alongside external health and social care professionals to ensure people’s health was managed. One professional described the whole team approach that staff used and was positive about all staff’s knowledge about people’s health and social care needs. The provider had recently won a local award which recognised the whole team’s commitment to providing high quality care for people at the end of life.

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 good (published 14 October 2017).

Why we inspected

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

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Hollybank House 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.