Holmwood House Care Centre

Updated 10 February 2021

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.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 23 December 2020 and was unannounced. Inspection activity continued until 05 January 2021.

Updated 10 February 2021

About the service

Holmwood House Care Centre is a residential care home and was providing personal and nursing care to 56 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 62 adults.

Holmwood House Care Centre accommodates people in a large listed building and has an additional newer wing which provides care and support to people living with dementia. There are spacious grounds, including secure garden areas, which people can access and enjoy.

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

People who used the service were very happy with the care and support provided. One relative summed this up saying, “When [my relative] was in hospital [they] kept asking to come home – home to here, back to [their] room. I think that proves how well they care for [them].”

Risks were well managed, and people received their medicines as prescribed, although new stocktaking procedures meant we could not check all medicines. There were good systems in place to monitor health and safety. Staff were recruited safely, clear about their safeguarding responsibilities and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. The provider was going to review staffing at night in response to comments made.

Staff were skilled and well trained. Health and nursing care were good and feedback from healthcare professionals was excellent. The environment was suitable for people. Staff showed a good understanding of consent issues and paperwork relating to consent was due to be reviewed to ensure it always reflected best practice.

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.

Staff were kind and caring towards the people who used the service and their relatives. Staff promoted people’s independence and upheld their dignity. The environment was warm, caring and welcoming.

The service provided people with meaningful occupation and enabled them to follow their own hobbies and interests. Activities were varied, appropriate and inclusive. End of life care was very good and we observed prompt responses to people's changing needs. Complaints were well managed and action taken promptly.

There was strong leadership and the new manager had already made a profound impact. Support from the provider was good and systems and procedures supported the smooth and safe running of the service. Audits were in place and actions were taken in response to them. Stakeholder views were regularly sought and acted upon.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 13/062018 and this is the first inspection.

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 31 May 2018). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has changed. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning.

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.