The Hollies

What families say

Visitors describe feeling genuinely welcomed when they arrive, with staff taking time to understand what matters most to their loved ones. The atmosphere reflects a team who recognise that small gestures of kindness can make all the difference to someone adjusting to residential care.

Based on 12 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement55
• Food quality55
• Healthcare65
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2020-03-21 · Report published 2020-03-21 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for safety at the February 2020 inspection. The published report does not include specific detail on staffing ratios, night cover, agency staff usage, or falls management systems. No safety concerns were identified by inspectors at that visit. A desk-based review in July 2023 found no new evidence requiring a change to the rating. The absence of recorded concerns is a positive baseline, but it is not the same as detailed, verified safety evidence.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For families choosing a home for a parent living with dementia, safety is rarely about dramatic incidents and more often about the quiet, consistent things: whether a call bell is answered promptly at 2am, whether the same familiar faces are on shift each week, and whether the home logs near-misses as carefully as actual falls. The Good Practice evidence base highlights that night staffing is where safety most commonly slips in smaller residential homes. This inspection did not record specific night staffing figures for The Hollies, so you will need to ask directly. The fact that the home moved from Requires Improvement to Good suggests it has addressed whatever gaps were previously identified, which is an encouraging signal.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that consistent staffing, particularly on night shifts, is one of the strongest predictors of physical safety in dementia care settings. High agency use on nights is associated with missed checks and slower responses to distress.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you last week's actual night-shift rota, not a template. Ask how many permanent staff were on each night and whether any agency workers covered those shifts."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for effectiveness at the February 2020 inspection. The report does not include specific detail on care plan content, review frequency, dementia training records, GP access arrangements, or how the home manages nutrition and hydration. No concerns were raised in this domain. The 2023 desk-based review did not identify new issues. As with safety, the Good rating is a positive signal, but the published text does not allow verification of specific practices.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a parent living with dementia, the effectiveness domain is where care plans either come alive or gather dust. Good Practice research consistently shows that care plans need to be treated as working documents, updated as your parent's condition changes and reviewed with family members, not filed away after admission. The inspection did not record how often plans are reviewed at The Hollies or whether families are routinely involved. Food quality is another marker that research identifies as a genuine indicator of care quality, because getting nutrition right for someone with dementia requires knowing the individual, not just offering a menu. Neither food nor care plan detail is verified in the published findings, so both are questions to raise on your visit.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that care plans which include detailed personal histories, including preferred names, lifelong routines, and food preferences, are associated with better wellbeing outcomes and fewer incidents of distress in people living with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask to see an anonymised example of a care plan and ask when it was last updated. Then ask how families are involved when a plan is reviewed. The answer will tell you a great deal about how much the home genuinely knows the people who live there."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for caring at the February 2020 inspection. The published report does not include direct inspector observations of staff interactions, resident testimony about how they feel treated, or specific examples of dignity and privacy being upheld. No concerns about care or treatment were identified. The Good rating in this domain, achieved after a previous Requires Improvement overall, suggests inspectors were satisfied with what they observed, but the text does not provide the specific detail that allows confident verification.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity appear in 55.2%. Families describe noticing it within minutes of a visit: whether a carer stops what they are doing to speak to a resident, whether they use the person's preferred name without being prompted, whether they move at the resident's pace rather than their own. These are the things you cannot read in a report; you have to observe them yourself. The Good Practice evidence base notes that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal interaction for people with advanced dementia, so watch how staff behave in corridors and communal areas when they think no one is paying attention.","evidence_base":"Research included in the IFF and Leeds Beckett review found that person-led care requires staff to know each individual's history, preferences, and non-verbal cues. Homes where staff can describe a resident's life before care, not just their care needs, consistently score higher on resident wellbeing measures.","watch_out":"During your visit, find a moment to sit quietly in a communal area for ten minutes and watch. Notice whether staff greet your parent's potential neighbours by name, whether they crouch down to speak at eye level, and whether any interaction feels rushed. This tells you more than any conversation with the manager."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for responsiveness at the February 2020 inspection. The report does not include specific detail on the activities programme, one-to-one engagement for people who cannot join group sessions, how individual preferences are incorporated, or end-of-life planning. The home supports people with dementia, physical disabilities, and sensory impairments, which means responsiveness to individual need is particularly important. No concerns were recorded in this domain.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness is referenced in 27.1% of positive family reviews, and the detail families most often cite is not about big events but about whether their parent had something meaningful to do that day. Good Practice research is clear that group activities alone are insufficient for people with advanced dementia, and that one-to-one engagement, including everyday tasks like folding, sorting, or tending plants, can significantly reduce distress and improve mood. The inspection did not verify whether The Hollies offers this kind of tailored, individual engagement, so it is one of the most important things to explore on a visit. Ask specifically what your parent would do on a day when they did not feel like joining the group.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found strong evidence that Montessori-based and task-oriented one-to-one activities, including familiar domestic tasks, reduce agitation and improve wellbeing in people with moderate to severe dementia, and that group-only activity programmes do not meet the needs of this population.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator or manager: if your parent was having a difficult morning and could not face the group session, what would happen? Ask for a specific example of a one-to-one activity that has been used recently for a resident with similar needs. Vague answers suggest the provision may be group-led rather than individually tailored."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for leadership at the February 2020 inspection, having previously been rated Requires Improvement overall. The registered manager is listed as Miss Gladiola Aberin Apiado, with Mrs Alexandra Thurlby as the nominated individual for the provider, Regal Care Trading Ltd. The improvement from a previous lower rating is the most substantive piece of evidence available for leadership quality. The published report does not include detail on staff culture, governance systems, complaint handling, or how the home learns from incidents.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability is one of the strongest predictors of sustained care quality, according to the Good Practice evidence base. The fact that this home improved from Requires Improvement to Good across all five domains is a meaningful achievement that requires capable leadership to deliver. However, the inspection was conducted in February 2020, over five years ago, and management personnel can change significantly in that time. Communication with families is highlighted in 11.5% of positive reviews and is closely tied to leadership culture: homes with strong, visible managers tend to keep families informed proactively rather than waiting to be asked. Confirm that the manager listed in the 2020 report is still in post and ask how long they have been there.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that leadership stability is one of the most consistent predictors of quality trajectory in care homes, and that staff empowerment, the ability to raise concerns without fear, is a reliable indicator of a well-led culture.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly how long they have been in their current role at this home, and ask what the biggest change they have made since arriving was. Then ask how families are contacted if something goes wrong. A confident, specific answer to both questions is a good sign."}

  Verified by inspector

Source: CQC inspection report →

What the evidence base says

Against the DCC Good Practice in Dementia Care standards, this home’s evidence aligns most strongly on The home caters specifically for people over 65 with physical disabilities, sensory impairments and dementia. They're equipped to support residents who need help with mobility and daily living tasks.. Gaps or open questions remain on Staff here have experience supporting residents with dementia, understanding the importance of routine and familiar faces. They work to maintain each person's sense of security while managing the challenges that memory loss can bring. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.