Holmwood Gardens Domiciliary Care Services

Holmwood Gardens is a supported living service that provides personal care and support to people with learning disabilities and/or autism, who live in their own homes in the community. At the time of inspection, the service supported 18 people who received a regulated activity of personal care.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equity, dignity, choices and independence and good services across local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people, and providers must have regard to it.

The provider had strengthened their learning culture, and improvements had been made in incident analysis. Themes, patterns, and trends from incidents were consistently identified, and learning opportunities acted upon. As a result, the registered manager had a more in-depth oversight of these processes, ensuring reviews were thorough and lead to meaningful improvements in practice. This enhanced approach supports reflective learning and the reduction of incidents, demonstrating significant progress since our last inspection.

Positive changes had been made to strengthen staff support, training, and compliance. Staff received ongoing training and guidance, and they spoke positively about the support provided. Records confirm that the service was consistently meeting the provider’s compliance expectations, reflecting a significant improvement since the last inspection.

Staff received regular safeguarding training and demonstrated a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in protecting people from risks and avoidable harm. These improvements promoted a safer, more informed culture and empowered individuals to understand and exercise their rights.

Staff told us they felt confident when supporting people who displayed distressed behaviours. This increased confidence reflected the impact of ongoing training and guidance, enabling staff to respond in a calm, person-centred way that prioritises dignity and wellbeing.

Staff were supported and had received relevant training to manage people’s emotional distress effectively. The provider had strengthened their approach by embedding positive behaviour support practices and continued to work with the local authority’s Positive Behaviour Support team for additional guidance and best practice implementation.