Holy Cross Care Home

Updated 3 January 2020

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 undertaken by two inspectors on day one. One inspector returned for day two of the inspection.

Service and service type

Holy Cross 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 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 reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with ten people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine members of staff including the registered manager, the new manager, two registered nurses, three care workers, an activity coordinator and the head chef. 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.

We reviewed a range of records. This included six people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We contacted five professionals who regularly visit the service for their feedback the home.

Updated 3 January 2020

About the service

Holy Cross Care Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 56 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 60 people. The home is a spacious, purpose-built property, situated within the grounds of Holy Cross Priory. Nursing care and residential care are provided on two floors.

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

People were happy with the care they received and told us they were treated with kindness. One person said about staff, “They have lovely senses of humour. They are very attentive. They are efficient and really care about you. There’s a real warmth.”

People told us they felt safe, were well supported and there were sufficient staff to care for them. People were supported by staff who were skilled in meeting their needs.

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 support this practice.

People received kind and compassionate care. People’s independence was promoted by staff. People were treated with respect and dignity and supported to make decisions about their care.

People were supported to engage in activities that interested them. One person said, “I get informed of things going on. There’s a very good notice board and staff are always quick to point out when activities are about to start.”

The registered manager was well regarded and had a clear vision for the service which was understood by the staff and embedded within their practice. There were effective quality assurance systems in place that were used to drive service improvements. People, their relatives and staff were asked for their feedback about the home and meetings were held regularly.

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 20 April 2017)

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.