What the CQC found at Holme Lea

People and families said staff treated people with dignity and respect. Families also said staff supported independence and involved people in decisions.

“People were treated with dignity and respect. People and families told us the carers were generally kind and caring in their interactions.” from the report

The home recorded weights, made referrals when people lost weight and supported access to health professionals. People and families gave positive feedback about the food.

“Evidence was seen of referrals to health professionals when people's needs changed.” from the report

Inspectors found staffing levels were above the level set by the home's dependency assessment. Safeguarding systems were in place and people said they felt safe.

“The service was safely staffed. The service uses a dependency tool to assess the needs of people in the service to determine the level of care needed to keep people safe.” from the report

The manager and provider responded to feedback during the inspection and were described as approachable. Families said the home was open when mistakes occurred.

“The registered manager and area directors were very responsive to feedback during the inspection and implemented changes where improvements have been identified.” from the report

Inspectors found missing records for thickened drinks, unclear instructions for variable doses and missing information about where some creams should be applied. They found no evidence of harm, but said people were placed at risk.

“We found no evidence people had been harmed. However, medicines were not safely managed which placed people at risk of harm.” from the report

The home's medicine audits had not identified all the issues found during the inspection. Inspectors recommended making all audits effective at identifying concerns and recording actions.

“We did observe the medication audit was not effective at identifying the issues we picked up on during this inspection, please see safe domain.” from the report

There was no activities co-ordinator at the time of the inspection. Families gave mixed views, and one said most days had no activities.

“Most days there are no activities on in here.” from the report

Employment gaps were explored, but only the years of employment were recorded. Inspectors recommended checking gaps more fully.

“Gaps in employment history were being explored however, only the years of employment were recorded.” from the report