Holgate House

The service mostly demonstrated the principles of Right support, Right care and Right culture. People were supported to have choice and control over their lives, access the community and maintain relationships, which reflected a person-centred approach. Staff understood people’s needs well and promoted independence, dignity and respect. However, some systems, including care planning, risk assessment and monitoring of outcomes, required further development to ensure support was consistently personalised, evidence-based and clearly reflected what mattered to people. Improvements to documentation and oversight were in progress, but not yet fully embedded. The environment was also not in line with Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture as it was a large service with 18 people living there. While the provider plans to reduce the maximum occupancy to 22, this is still more than what would be in line with best practice to support people with a learning disability and autism.

Care was kind, respectful and person-centred, and people told us they were treated with dignity and as individuals. Staff promoted people’s independence, choice and control, and people were supported to access their communities and maintain relationships. However, the effectiveness of care required improvement. Care planning and risk assessments were not always detailed or consistent, and health-related planning and outcome monitoring needed further development to ensure care was consistently evidence-based and focused on what mattered to people. Leaders had recognised these shortfalls and had begun to make improvements, but these were not yet fully embedded. The service was well led overall, with a new manager who had made positive changes in a short period of time. People, staff and professionals reported improvements in leadership, culture and openness, and governance systems were being strengthened to support sustained improvement and a positive learning culture.

The provider was previously in breach of regulation 12 and 17 at the last inspection. Improvements were found at this assessment and the provider was no longer in breach of these regulations.