Outstanding result as Holland House receives top rating from CQC
Lisa Carvell and the team at Holland House in Corby, Northamptonshire are celebrating having been rated as ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Holland House, which specialises in residential support and accommodation for up to four people with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), was rated as ‘Outstanding’ overall, with individual ratings of Outstanding for being Well-led and Responsive and a Good rating for being Safe, Caring and Effective.
It is the fourth Consensus owned specialist residential service for individuals with PWS in Northamptonshire to receive a rating of ‘Outstanding’ from the CQC in the last 18 months. The other services being Heatherington House, Haydock House and Parvale House, all based in Kettering, Northants.
The report was extremely positive and highlighted that, without exception, the care and support people received was specifically personalised to meet people’s specialist needs. People and their relatives agreed that the support they received gave them an exceptional quality of life.
One relative said, “The transformation in [name] quality of life is absolutely incredible, [name] was almost housebound, they had significant life-threatening healthcare needs before moving to the home. The fantastic support [name] has received has quite literally saved her life.”
Carers were praised for the overwhelming compassion and great kindness with which they treated the people they support and people consistently commented on the positive impact the service has made on their lives.
One person said, “I can’t thank the staff enough for all the support they have given me. I have lost [amount of weight] and it has changed my life completely. Relatives said, “The staff are fantastic, they are extremely skilled in caring for people with PWS. [name] quality of life has improved dramatically since moving in to the home,” and “As a family we are extremely happy with the care and support [name] receives.”
The service was also highly praised for its exceptionally strong and effective leadership. Inspectors reported that there was a clear management structure and the provider had clear visions and values which were shared with the whole team. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to perform their roles, and had significant experience in caring for people living with PWS.
One relative said, “Registered Manager is a true professional they and the staff are totally dedicated and passionate about giving the residents the best chance to have a good quality of life within the constraints of living with Prader – Willi Syndrome (PWS) I can’t thank them enough.”
Holland House is led by registered manager Lisa Carvell who this year will be celebrating 25 years of working at Consensus Gretton and supporting individuals with PWS. Reflecting on the service’s gold standard rating, Lisa said, “We are all absolutely thrilled to have received a rating of ‘Outstanding’ from the CQC.”
“As a team we are all really invested in the individuals we support and incredibly passionate about supporting them to live meaningful and fulfilling lives; Having an in-depth understanding of PWS and the daily challenges individuals can face is essential, but it is also really important for us to see each individual as a person first and to put them at the heart of everything we do.”
“Our focus is on supporting each person to take ownership of their journey, to make their own choices, work towards and achieve their dreams, aspirations and goals, and develop confidence in themselves and their own abilities.”
“When you see a person who had been in critical health and unable to walk down a flight of stairs going horse riding and able to walk for miles around London or you see someone bursting with joy because they lost weight and can wear a dress for the first time, it’s an amazing feeling for us too; Seeing them make decisions for themselves, seeing their self-esteem improve and their personalities shine through and just seeing them really enjoying life -there is nothing more rewarding!”
“As well as our person-centred approach, being a part of an organisation like Consensus Gretton that has over 35 years’ experience of supporting individuals with PWS has been fundamental to supporting our individuals to have exceptional experiences and achieve exceptional outcomes. Not only are we able to access this wealth of knowledge and expertise through the specialist PWS training we receive that looks holistically at every aspect of the condition and its impact but also through our specialist PWS outreach team who provide us with additional advice, guidance and ideas whenever required,” added Lisa.
Eddie Morgan said, “I am delighted and very proud of the terrific achievement of Holland House. Each ‘Outstanding’ rating from CQC is the result of a great deal of hard work and commitment by Lisa and the whole team. Everybody at Consensus is particularly pleased that CQC commended the team for embedding our values evidenced by the empathy, passion and enthusiasm our team demonstrated in supporting people achieve their aspirations and support needs– we believe this is an essential part of what we do.”
Deanna Westwood, CQC Head of Inspection for Adult Social Care in the central region, said: “Our inspection team was very impressed by the level of support offered at Holland House.
“Without exception, the care and support people received was specifically personalised to meet people’s specialist needs. All the people using the service and their relatives spoke positively about the care and support they received and how it had greatly improved their lives.
“People were supported to manage their weight and food choices. As a result, people had seen huge benefits to their health and well being. They were educated about food choices and activity levels and how to control food cravings in social settings and when alone.
“Everyone at the service had made significant progress in losing a substantial amount of weight and they were immensely proud of what they had accomplished.
“Staff worked as a close team and were driven in providing person centred support to enable people to become more confident and achieve as much independence as possible.
“There was a clear management structure. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to perform their roles, and had significant experience in caring for people living with PWS. The provider had clear visions and values which were shared with the whole staff team.
“This is why we have rated Holland House as outstanding.”