Archived: The Hollies

Updated 8 September 2017

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 is 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.

One inspector and a specialist adviser completed this unannounced inspection on 14 July 2017. The specialist advisor was a social worker with expertise in mental health including services for young people and adults in the community. On this occasion we had not asked the provider to complete a provider information return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We gave the registered manager the opportunity to share this information with us during the inspection.

We used a range of different methods to help us understand people’s experiences. We spoke with one person who lived at the home. We also spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager, the managing director and one care staff. We spoke with a clinical health specialist who supported people who lived at the home by telephone during the inspection. We also spoke with a further three care staff and one team leader by telephone after the inspection. We had email contact from one additional member of care staff who chose to give us their feedback in this way. We spoke with one further community professional by telephone after the inspection to gain further feedback.

We reviewed care plans for one person to check that they were accurate and up to date. We looked at staffing records to ensure that they were receiving the support they needed to do their jobs well; for example, training and recruitment records. We also looked at the systems the provider had in place to ensure the quality of the service was continuously monitored and reviewed to drive improvement.

Updated 8 September 2017

We inspected The Hollies 14 July 2017 and it was an unannounced inspection. The home provides accommodation and specialist mental health support for up to four young people with complex mental health presentations. At the time of our inspection one person was living at the home. This was the home’s first inspection.

The home had 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Medicines were not consistently managed to protect people from the risks associated with them and to ensure that people received them as prescribed. Other risks which could cause harm to people and others were not always adequately managed. People were not always protected from harm and abuse because safeguarding procedures were not always followed. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs but the high turnover of staff meant that people were not always supported by staff who understood their risks well. The support systems and structures in place to manage the home were not always effective in ensuring that it was a safe environment for people and staff.

People were supported to make choices about their care and what they wanted to achieve. They had clear goals for recovery and independence which were regularly reviewed. Staff knew the plans and provided support in line with them. They had planned time with healthcare professionals to review their health and wellbeing as part of their support. People consented to the plans and understood why they were making certain decisions.

Staff received training and guidance to ensure they had the skills to support people well. They had positive, caring relationships with people and respected their privacy and dignity. People were supported to develop and maintain important relationships.

There was a complaints procedure in place and any received were responded to in line with it.

We found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.