Archived: Holmside

Updated 6 January 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. The inspection was planned to check whether the provider was 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.

This inspection visit took place on 27 October 2016 and was announced 24 hours in advance because we wanted to make sure we could meet people who used the service. The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Before the inspection, we checked the information that we held about the service and the service provider, including notifications we received from the service. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law.

During the inspection we met the eight people who used the service and spoke with six of them. We also spent time observing interactions between staff and people who used the service. We spoke with two care staff, and the providers, one of who is the registered manager. We reviewed a range of care and support records for three people, including care needs assessments, medicine administration records, health monitoring and daily support records. We also reviewed records about how the service was managed, including risk assessments and quality audits.

Following the inspection we received feedback from two community care professionals who had knowledge of working with the service.

We last inspected the service on 18 August 2014 and no concerns were identified.

Updated 6 January 2017

Holmside provides accommodation and personal care for up to eight people who have learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. There were eight people living in the home at the time of this inspection.

This inspection visit took place on 27 October 2016 and was announced 24 hours in advance because we wanted to make sure we could meet people who used the service. The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

The service had a registered manager in post. 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.

There were systems and processes in place to protect people from harm, including how medicines were managed. Staff were trained in how to recognise and respond to abuse and understood their responsibility to report any concerns.

Safe recruitment practices were followed and appropriate checks had been undertaken, which made sure only suitable staff were employed to care for people in the home. There were sufficient numbers of experienced staff to meet people’s needs.

Staff were supported to provide appropriate care to people because they were trained. There was an induction, training and development programme, which supported staff to gain relevant knowledge and skills.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) which apply to care homes. The providers were aware of their responsibilities and understood when such an application should be made and how to submit one.

People received regular and on-going health checks and support to attend appointments. They were supported to eat and drink enough to meet their needs and to make informed choices about what they ate.

The atmosphere throughout the home was friendly, calm and caring. The staff spoke about people in a respectful manner and demonstrated understanding of their individual needs.

The service was responsive to people’s needs and staff listened to what they said. Staff were prompt to raise issues about people’s health and people were referred to health professionals when needed. People were confident they could raise concerns or complaints and that these would be dealt with.

There was an open and inclusive culture within the service, which encouraged people’s involvement and their feedback was used to identify any improvements that were needed. There were a range of systems in place to assess and monitor the quality and safety of the service and to ensure people were receiving appropriate support.