Holywell Nursing Home

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. This was the first assessment for this service under the new provider. At this assessment we have rated this key question good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 70 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

People and relatives were very complimentary about care staff. Comments from people included: “[Staff are] lovely, all excellent, a tower of strength”, “I’m very fond of the staff” and “I love it here. They [the staff team] are so good.” Relatives told us staff were kind, patient, respectful and attentive. One relative said, “They are a caring team, and so kind. The staff are really good.”

Relationships between staff, people and relatives were trusting and strong. People were supported in an unrushed way. Staff offered choices sensitively and promoted dignity. One person said, “Oh, I’m being spoilt, this is lovely” during lunchtime.

Staff ensured people’s privacy, approached care gently, and ensured people were comfortable. We saw warm and caring interactions, with staff knowing people well and taking time to talk with them.

Staff treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Staff knew people as individuals and people felt recognised as such. One person told us, “We are treated like individuals here.” Staff described tailoring care to each person to meet their individual needs. We noted many people in the home preferred to use names which were not their given names at birth. All staff knew and respected this.

However, care plans lacked sufficient detail to fully reflect people’s individuality and preferences. Despite this, people and relatives told us staff understood their needs and offered personalised support day-to-day, including respecting preferred routines and how people chose to spend their time.

Staff promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care and wellbeing. People’s care records needed to be improved.

People were supported to make choices about their daily routines, meals and where they spent their time. One person said, “I make my own bed and shower myself. I’m independent. I’m quite happy here.”

Staff supported people to be involved in decisions about their wellbeing and to maintain independence wherever possible. One staff member said, “I encourage choices and independence.” However, care records did not always clearly show how people’s choices and preferences were captured or reviewed. Also, where restrictions were placed upon people, the correct documentation was not always in place to support the decision. This did not uphold people’s rights.

Activities were available each day, and people could choose group or 1 to 1 engagement. Although some limited activity interaction was seen on the first day we visited, we saw varied and enjoyable sessions on our second visit. One person said, “I do enjoy the bingo and the quizzes and joining in with those. We have a pottery painting person coming in again next week and I like that activity, but things like when the singer comes in is not really my scene, so I don’t attend.”

There were 3 staff who shared the lead in organising and running the activity programme. People could choose to join in or not; there was no pressure to do so. In addition to group activities, activity staff spent time 1 to 1 with people in their own rooms. One person said, “I sit quietly in my own room [this was their choice]. The activities ladies come in and have a chat.”

People told us they would like trips out of the home. Whilst some people did occasionally go out locally, people wanted longer trips out. This was also raised at the resident’s meeting in February 2026 as an area for improvement. The management team were looking at transport options as the home had no transport of its own.

Staff responded promptly and compassionately when people needed support. People consistently told us they felt safe and well supported, saying staff “Respond quite quickly to call bells” and “I have good backup here.”

Staff were attentive to signs of pain or discomfort, and acted quickly when concerns were raised, for example reviewing pain management or repositioning people promptly. During our visits we saw staff responded to people promptly when they required care, support, or reassurance. This led to a calm, relaxed and homely atmosphere.

People told us they were listened to, with one saying, “If I had a concern, I would speak to the manager; she is approachable.” Staff knew who to contact when people needed urgent help or support or to report a concern.

Relatives told us staff ensured people received the care they needed and they were kept informed. One relative said their family member had a recent serious health episode and, “They [staff] dealt with this very well. They called an ambulance and they also called me and told me what had happened, so I decided to come up. [Name] recovered really well, so yes, I think it's a very safe place for [name]."

The management team cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to deliver person-centred care.

Staff told us they felt valued, supported and respected. One staff member said, “The team is good, the manager is very supportive,” and another commented, “If I raise something, it gets followed up.”

Staff described strong teamwork and approachable leadership. Staff comments included, “[The manager] is approachable and friendly” and “This management team has been the best that I have ever worked for.”

Staff reported good training, supportive supervision and a positive culture where their wellbeing was prioritised. Several said they would recommend the home as a good place to work and would be happy for a family member to live here.