Archived: Holly House

Updated 10 September 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on 28 July 2015 and was announced. We told the provider we would be coming. The notice period gave the manager time to arrange for us to speak with people who used the service and to ensure staff were available to speak with us about the service. The inspection was conducted by one inspector.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. We looked at information received from local authority commissioners and statutory notifications sent to us by the service. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law. Commissioners are people who work to find appropriate care and support services which are paid for by the local authority.

We reviewed the information in the provider’s information return (PIR). This is a form we asked the provider to send to us before we visited. The PIR asked the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We were able to review the information as part of our evidence when conducting our inspection.

During our visit we spoke with three people in their own accommodation and telephoned two people’s representatives following our inspection. During our visit we also spoke with the registered manager, a senior support worker and three support workers.

We reviewed four people’s care plans to see how their care and support was planned and delivered. We looked at other records related to people’s care and how the service operated, including medicine records, staff recruitment records, the provider’s quality assurance audits and records of complaints.

Updated 10 September 2015

Holly House is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care and support to people with learning difficulties in their own homes. At the time of our visit the service supported six people. Five people lived in a shared house, and one person lived in a separate flat.

We inspected the service on 28 July 2015. The provider was told we were coming so they could arrange for staff to be available to talk with us about the service.

The service has a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People and their relatives told us they felt safe using the service. Staff demonstrated they understood the importance of keeping people safe. They understood their responsibilities for reporting any concerns regarding potential abuse. Risks to people’s health and welfare were assessed and care plans gave staff instructions on how to minimise identified risks, so staff knew how to support people safely.

There were enough staff on duty to meet people’s needs. The recruitment process checked staff’s suitability to deliver personal care safely. Staff received training and support that ensured people’s needs were met effectively. Staff supported people with kindness and compassion, and treated people in a way that respected their dignity and promoted their independence.

Management and staff understood their responsibility to comply with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and supported people in line with these principles. People’s records showed that their families and other health professionals were involved in decisions made in their best interests.

People were encouraged to maintain their independence and they were involved in planning how they were cared for and supported. Care was planned to meet people’s individual needs and preferences, and care plans were regularly reviewed.

The provider and registered manager were dedicated to providing quality care to people. Staff and people who used the service found them open, approachable, and responsive. There were processes to monitor the quality of the service provided and to understand the experiences of people who used the service. This was through regular communication with people and staff, checks on records, returned surveys from people who used the service, health professionals and staff and a programme of checks and audits.