Archived: Hollycroft Care Home

Updated 4 July 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.

The inspection took place on 15 May 2017 and was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included looking at information we had received about the service and statutory notifications we had received from the home. We contacted the local authority safeguarding and commissioning departments to get their views on the service. We received feedback from two health professionals who regularly work with the service.

We used a variety of methods to gather information about people's experiences. We observed care and support for several hours in the communal areas of the home. During the inspection we spoke with seven people that used the service and two relatives. We looked at the way people's medicines were managed, looked in three people’s care records and viewed other records relating to the management of the service such as maintenance records and meeting notes. We looked at staff files and training records. We looked around the home at a selection of people's bedrooms and the communal areas. We spoke with the regional manager, interim manager, senior care worker, two care workers and the cook.

Updated 4 July 2017

Hollycroft care home is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 30 people. People who live at Hollycroft care home are predominantly older people and people living with dementia. The home is situated in a residential area in Ilkley. On the day of the inspection 17 people were living in the home.

A registered manager was in post, but had recently stepped down from the role. We reminded them of the need to correctly deregister with the Commission. An interim manager was in place whist the service recruited another registered manager. 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.

At the last inspection in July 2016 we rated the service ‘requires improvement’ overall and identified two breaches of regulation. This was because there was a lack of evidence the service was acting within the legal framework of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and medicines were not safely managed. We found improvement had been made at this inspection.

People and relatives spoke positively about the overall standard of care provided. They said care was appropriate and met people’s individual needs. They said staff were friendly and knew them well.

Medicines were safely managed. People received their medicines as prescribed and clear records were maintained.

People told us they felt safe living in the home. Safeguarding procedures were in place which were understood by staff. Risks to people’s health and safety were assessed and regularly reviewed to help ensure people were kept safe.

Although on the day of the inspection, staffing levels were reduced due to last minute sickness, we concluded that overall, there were enough staff deployed to ensure people received timely and appropriate care. Safe recruitment procedures were in place to ensure people were of suitable character to work with vulnerable people.

The premises was safely managed. A full time maintenance worker was employed to ensure the premises was kept safe and suitable for its intended purpose.

People and relatives praised staff and said they had the right skills to care for them. Staff received a range of training and supervision relevant to their role.

People’s consent was sought before care and support was offered. The service was acting within the legal framework of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Where people lacked capacity to make decisions, best interest processes were followed.

People had access to a choice of food and risk and appropriate action was taken where people were at risk of malnutrition.

We observed care and found staff were kind, caring and treated people well. Staff demonstrated they knew people well and had formed positive relationships with them.

People’s care needs were assessed and clear and person centred care plans were put in place. These were subject to regular review and demonstrated the service responded to people’s changing needs.

Although a dedicated activities co-ordinator was not employed we saw staff provided people with a number of activities to ensure their social needs were met.

We found a number of improvements had been made to the service over recent months. We would need evidence these were sustained over time to be assured the service was well led. A range of audits and checks were undertaken to identify and rectify any issues that arose.

People’s feedback was sought and used to make improvements to the service.