Archived: Holcroft House

Holcroft House is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 34 people. The service provides support to older people who may be living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 18 people using the service.

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

People told us staff were caring and had the right skills and experience to support them. Staff knew people well and understood their needs and preferences. People we spoke with were all positive about the service. One person said, “I am very happy. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

People were safe and protected from avoidable harm and abuse. The provider supported people to keep themselves and their belongings safe and secure. The provider had processes to manage people’s medicines safely, and had effective measures in place to prevent and control infectious disease, including COVID-19.

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.

People’s care was delivered by a service that was well managed and well-led. The leadership and culture promoted good quality, person-centred care, with a strong team ethos. There were effective management and quality systems in place.

For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 22 June 2018).

Why we inspected

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

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Holcroft House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

We found the following examples of good practice:

The provider had created a visitor’s ‘pod’ using an existing doorway. This meant visitors could see and speak to people through the plastic wall whilst being protected from the weather.

The home is on the ground floor and had one main corridor which meant people were able to walk around the home. However, due to Covid-19, the corridor had been divided into three distinct areas so people could 'bubble' in one area. People tended to stay in these bubble areas and staff were allocated to each area. Staff changed their personal protective equipment as they left and entered a new bubble area.

The registered manager had strong links with local health and social care professionals which ensured they were always up to date with changes in guidance.

Holcroft House 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.

Holcroft House is a residential care home for up to 34 people who may be living with dementia. On the day of the inspection, 33 people were living there. The accommodation is on the ground level with several communal areas for different activities. There is also a garden, which is secure.

There was a registered manager in place. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were safe living at Holcroft House. The provider had policies and procedures in place designed to protect people from abuse. Risk assessments were in place to reduce risks to people’s health and safety. Appropriate recruitment procedures were in place and people’s needs were met by suitable numbers of staff. There was a cleaning programme in place to reduce the risk of infection.

Mental capacity assessments and best interests decisions were completed where necessary. People were supported by staff who were trained appropriately for their role. People were supported to eat and drink enough and were offered choices.

People were supported to access healthcare services and ongoing healthcare support when necessary. Staff supported people to take their medicines as prescribed. The environment was suitable to meet the needs of people living with dementia.

Staff developed caring relationships with people and supported them to express their views and be involved in making daily decisions about their care and support. Staff supported people whilst being mindful of their privacy and dignity.

People received personalised care that was responsive to their needs and enjoyed a range of activities, which were tailored to their interests and choices. People and their relatives had access to the complaints procedure. People were consulted about their end of life care choices and wishes.

The service was very well-led. The vision of the service was to improve the lives of people and their health and wellbeing and this was achieved because people were at the heart of the service.

There was a strong emphasis on continuous improvement and the views of people using the service were central to changes made. Governance was well-embedded into the running of the home. There was a system of audits in place to monitor the quality of service provided.

The registered manager was very open to trying new ideas to improve the quality of the care and support given to people. There was a clear management structure in place which demonstrated good management and leadership. The registered manager worked in partnership with other agencies and ensured that the service continued to learn and improve.

People's choices and consent to care and support were respected at all times during our visit. We observed staff supporting people with day-to-day activities, and the interaction was sincere, respectful and responsive to individual support needs.

We reviewed care plans for four people and saw they were person-centred and contained essential details about people's care and support needs.

The premises were well designed, laid out and maintained to a satisfactory standard. They were appropriate for people living there.

The service followed appropriate checking, selection and induction processes to ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable people and able to provide them with effective care.

The service was open to complaints, and people were given all necessary support if they wished to complain. Few complaints had been received, and they were resolved quickly and to the satisfaction of those making them.