The Hollies and Hollies Lodge

Updated 11 February 2022

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 the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 18 January 2022 and was unannounced.

Updated 11 February 2022

About the service

The Hollies and Holly Lodge is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for people with a mental health need. At the time of the inspection 24 people were being supported. The service can support up to 27 people. The service is divided into two separate units joined by corridors. The main house accommodates most people and has shared communal areas and communal showers. The second part of the building ‘Holly Lodge’ has four residents in ensuite accommodation with a communal kitchen and living room. There are large grounds surrounding the houses which include a vegetable garden and sensory garden.

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

Since the last inspection the management had worked hard to change the ethos and culture in the service to focus on recovery and promoting people’s independence.

People and staff were positive about the managers in the service and told us they listened and responded to concerns.

Staff were engaged in the change within the service and spoke positively about the impact on people living in the home.

There was a positive and calm atmosphere and people told us they felt safe.

Risks had been assessed in relation to people’s care and support needs and guidance on managing risks focussed on promoting people’s independence.

People received their medicines as prescribed. The service was supporting people to be as independent as possible with their medicines.

The service was clean and tidy throughout. People were supported to keep their own areas tidy as part of developing independent living skills.

There were enough fully trained staff with the skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs. Staff focussed on supporting people by focussing on their strengths to aid their recovery and promote independence.

Staff knew people well and had a good rapport with people.

Peoples physical and mental health needs were holistically assessed focussing on supporting people’s recovery and independence. Staff worked with people to achieve their personal goals.

The service worked well with other professionals to access healthcare. People were supported to attend regular check-ups such as the dentist and opticians.

One unit in the home was specifically adapted to support people to develop independent living skills with ensuite accommodation and communal kitchen and living room. The provider had plans to reconfigure other areas on the building to create similar self-contained accommodation which would help people to develop skills they would need to move into the community.

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 directed their own care. Each person met weekly with their ‘recovery worker’ to discuss progress towards their personal goals and any difficulties they were facing.

The service responded to people’s needs. Care plans were updated as needs changed or as people achieved their goals.

People were supported to access the community and take part in social activities to reduce isolation.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 13 September 2018) and there were multiple breaches of regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Hollies and Holly Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.