CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Homestead House
Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the home was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.
- Safe?
- Requires improvement
- Inspectors found improved infection prevention and control, including clean premises, safe use of protective equipment, testing and arrangements for visits. They were also told that measures were in place to manage COVID-19-related staffing pressures.
- Effective?
- Good
- Does the care work? Training, consent, food and drink, working with GPs and nurses.
- Caring?
- Good
- Are people treated with kindness and dignity?
- Responsive?
- Requires improvement
- Is care built around the person? Care plans, activities, complaints.
- Well-led?
- Requires improvement
- Is the home run well? The manager, the culture, how problems get found and fixed.
What inspectors found, January 2022
Inspected but not rated; inspectors found improved infection control and good arrangements for managing COVID-19 risks.
The CQC carried out an announced, targeted inspection on 07 January 2022. It looked at infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements and whether staffing pressures linked to COVID-19 were affecting the home.
The home was visibly clean and well maintained. Inspectors found that COVID-19 risks were assessed and reviewed, protective equipment was used safely, testing was available and visits were being supported in line with guidance.
At the previous inspection, the home had breached Regulation 12 because of infection control concerns. The CQC found enough improvement this time and said the home was no longer in breach. The service was inspected but not rated, so this report is not a full overall assessment of the home.
Clean premises and equipment
The home and its equipment were visibly clean and well maintained. Cleaning included busy areas and frequently touched surfaces.
“The home and equipment were visibly clean and well-maintained.” from the report
COVID-19 risk management
The home had risk assessments, policies and a contingency plan to manage COVID-19 risks for people and staff.
“The risks associated with COVID-19 had been identified, assessed, managed and regularly reviewed.” from the report
Support for family contact
Relatives told inspectors that communication had been good during the pandemic and that the home supported family relationships.
“Relatives told us the service had communicated well with them throughout the pandemic and supported them to maintain relationships with their family members.” from the report
Staff support and training
Staff received regular training, supervision and meetings, as well as emotional support. They showed good knowledge of infection control procedures.
“They received regular training, supervisions and staff meetings as well as access to emotional support.” from the report
No COVID-19 outbreak
The report says the home had not experienced a COVID-19 outbreak during the period described.
“The service had never had a COVID-19 outbreak and the robust procedures in place, and the staff's commitment and diligence, had contributed to this.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are you maintaining the infection prevention and control arrangements described in this report?
- 02How do you currently manage staffing pressures caused by illness or COVID-19?
- 03How are visits arranged now, and what infection control steps do visitors need to follow?
- 04How do you make sure staff and visiting professionals meet the COVID-19 vaccination requirements or have a valid exemption?
- 05How often are your infection control policy, risk assessments and cleaning schedules reviewed?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements and COVID-19-related staffing pressures; it was not a full inspection and the service was inspected but not rated. This explanation was written from the published report of 18 January 2022 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
What inspectors found, September 2019
Rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind care and good medicines practice, but cleaning, care records and management checks needed improvement.
This was a planned, unannounced inspection on 10 and 12 July 2019. One inspector spoke with people and staff, observed care, and reviewed care records, medicine records, recruitment information, complaints and quality checks.
People said they felt safe and were happy with the care. Staff were kind, respected privacy and supported people to make choices. Medicines were managed safely, and staff supported people with food, drink and health appointments. However, some areas were not cleaned often enough, and there was an offensive odour in one corridor.
The overall rating was Requires Improvement. Effective and Caring were rated Good. Safe, Responsive and Well-led remained Requires Improvement. The service had the same overall rating at its previous inspection and had been rated Requires Improvement for two consecutive inspections.
Kind and respectful care
People said staff were kind and polite. Staff listened, protected privacy and dignity, and supported people to do as much as possible for themselves.
“Staff are really quite nice, they're always polite.” from the report
Safe medicines support
Staff had medicines training, gave medicines safely and kept accurate records. They also respected people's decisions if medicines were refused.
“Staff administered medicines safely and maintained records to show this.” from the report
Enough care staff
Inspectors found enough care staff to support people safely, with staff who had the skills to meet people's needs.
“There were enough staff on duty to support people safely and we saw that they had the skills to meet people’s needs.” from the report
Support with food and drink
People could choose where to sit and eat at their own pace. Staff provided prompting or direct help where needed and monitored people's food and drink when required.
“Staff provided support to people who were not able to eat and drink independently.” from the report
Cleaning and infection control
seriousThere was only one housekeeping staff member for two half-days a week. Care staff did not always have time to clean rooms, and an offensive odour remained.
“The lack of routine cleaning of some areas of the home meant that people were at risk from poor infection control.” from the report
Care plans lacked detail
needs fixingSome records did not give staff enough personalised guidance about diabetes or end of life wishes. Best interest decisions were also not always well recorded.
“There was not enough information available for staff to be able to care for people at the end of their lives in the way that each person wanted.” from the report
Activities did not cover all interests
needs fixingPeople had activities during the day, but some were not offered ways to continue their previous interests. The home did not provide a way for one person to pursue gardening.
“However, people's care records showed and staff told us that they had other interests than the activities provided.” from the report
- 01What housekeeping arrangements are now in place, and how do you check that all areas are cleaned regularly?
- 02Has the offensive odour identified by inspectors been resolved, and what evidence can you show?
- 03How are care plans now personalised for diabetes, mental capacity decisions and end of life wishes?
- 04What activities are available for people to continue their individual interests, including gardening?
- 05How do you record actions from audits and make sure recurring problems are followed through?
This was a planned, unannounced inspection covering all five CQC questions, including care, the premises, records, medicines, staffing and management systems. This explanation was written from the published report of 5 September 2019 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of Homestead House
3 rated inspections over 4 years: the service has slipped, from Good to Requires improvement.
- January 2022Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
- September 2019Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- July 2018Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- December 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- November 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- July 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- March 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- March 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- March 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 2 December 2010.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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Most charge £990 to £1,120 a week. 9 can care for a couple. 14 years' experience on average.
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