Holly Cottage

Updated 8 June 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

One inspector carried out this inspection.

Service and service type:

Holly Cottage is a residential care home that was providing personal care for up to 12 people with a range of support needs including severe learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and mental health. The home has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the 'Registering the Right Support' and other best practice guidance. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The service had a registered manager. The service is required to have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that 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. Inspection site visit activity took place on Wednesday 8 May 2019.

What we did:

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about. We assessed the information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

We spoke with one person who used the service.

We also spoke with four members of staff including the registered manager, who is also the managing director for the provider.

We observed how people received their care in communal areas of the service.

We looked at records in relation to people who used the service.

We also looked at records relating to the management of the service, recruitment, policies and systems for monitoring quality. This included quality assessments made by the local authority.

We made contact and received feedback about the provision of care from the Local Authority quality monitoring team.

Updated 8 June 2019

About the service: Holly Cottage is a residential care home that was providing accommodation and personal care to five people at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service: Holly Cottage has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

Improvements had been made to the service following our previous inspection in May 2018 to address concerns and a breach of Regulation 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

There were enough staff on duty to enable people to remain safe and receive care in a timely way. Staff were safely recruited, they knew how to keep people safe from avoidable harm.

The environment was safe, and people had access to appropriate equipment where needed. The premises were clean and followed infection control guidelines. Accidents and incidents were analysed to prevent re-occurrence.

People were supported to take their medicines in a safe way.

Staff were kind, caring and promoted people’s dignity. Staff understood the importance of treating people with respect and ensured they did this. People were observed to have good relationships with the staff team. Staff actively ensured people maintained links with their friends and family.

People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported to pursue their hobbies and interests.

The registered manager provided staff with leadership and was visible and approachable. Staff were motivated and enjoyed strong team work.

Information from audits, incidents and quality checks was used to drive continuous improvements to the service people received.

More information is in the full report.

Rating at last inspection: Requires improvement (Published May 2018)

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection based on our previous rating. The service has improved its rating to good in all key questions.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk