CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at The Homestead
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors were assured about infection prevention and control, including visitors, admissions, PPE, testing, hygiene and outbreak management.
- Effective?
- Good
- This area was not assessed in this targeted inspection.
- Caring?
- Good
- This area was not assessed in this targeted inspection.
- Responsive?
- Good
- This area was not assessed in this targeted inspection.
- Well-led?
- Good
- This area was not assessed in this targeted inspection.
What inspectors found, March 2021
Inspected but not rated; inspectors found strong COVID-19 infection control arrangements.
This was an announced, targeted inspection on 27 January 2021. It checked how the home was preventing and controlling COVID-19 infections, rather than reviewing all areas of care.
Inspectors found good practice in visitor arrangements, personal protective equipment, social distancing, testing and hygiene. People could see family in a garden visiting pod, or use phone and video calls when this was not possible.
Staff had infection control training and competency checks. The home had plans for safe admissions, isolating people with symptoms and protecting staff at higher risk. The service was inspected but not rated, so this report does not give an overall quality rating.
Visitor safety
The home had arrangements intended to reduce the risk of visitors bringing in or spreading COVID-19. Families could use a garden visiting pod or contact people by phone or video call.
“The provider was following best practice guidance in terms of ensuring visitors to the home did not introduce and spread Covid19” from the report
PPE and training
Staff were using PPE and following distancing guidance. They had infection prevention training, with regular spot checks and competency checks.
“Staff were well trained and have undertaken onsite IPC training, donning and doffing training and undergone regular spot checks and competency checks.” from the report
Outbreak planning
Staff knew how to isolate people with symptoms quickly. There were also plans to protect vulnerable staff if an outbreak occurred.
“Staff were trained and knew how to immediately isolate individuals with symptoms to avoid the virus spreading to other residents and staff members.” from the report
Safe admissions
The home had a clear policy for people arriving from the community or hospital, and inspectors were assured that admissions were safe.
“The provider had a clear policy designed for people who were admitted to the home from the community or from hospital.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are visitors currently supported to visit safely, and is a visiting pod or another arrangement still available?
- 02How often do staff receive infection prevention, PPE and donning and doffing checks now?
- 03What happens if a resident develops symptoms of an infection, and how quickly can they be isolated?
- 04How are people admitted from hospital or the community, and what checks are completed before admission?
- 05How are staff in high-risk groups currently assessed and supported during an outbreak?
This was an announced, targeted inspection of infection prevention and control during the COVID-19 pandemic; it did not assess the other four questions or provide an overall rating. This explanation was written from the published report of 6 March 2021 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, March 2018
The Homestead is rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and person-centred care, with some information and record-keeping improvements needed.
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection on 16 February 2018. Inspectors spoke with seven people living at the home, eight staff and four health and social care professionals, although none of those professionals replied. They also reviewed care records, medicine records, staff files and quality checks.
The overall rating was Good. All five areas were rated Good: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. People told inspectors they felt safe, staff treated them with kindness and respect, and their needs, choices, activities, food and healthcare were well supported.
Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicine systems, suitable recruitment checks, relevant staff training and good infection control. The home was clean and well managed. The registered manager and provider used meetings, audits and reviews to monitor and improve the service.
There were some areas to improve. Not all information was available in formats to support people with communication difficulties, there was little signage for people with sight impairment, and some health information had not yet been moved into current care folders. The complaints procedure also incorrectly referred people to the CQC, but this was corrected after the inspection.
People felt safe
People said they felt safe and call bells were answered promptly. Staff understood how to recognise and report abuse or poor practice.
“People felt safe living at the home. People were happy the service was safe.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
Staff knew people well, respected their choices and protected their privacy and dignity during personal care.
“Staff treated people with kindness and compassion in everything they did.” from the report
Good staffing and training
There were enough staff to meet people's needs. Staff had relevant training, induction and ongoing support.
“People's needs were consistently met by staff who had the right competencies, knowledge and qualifications.” from the report
Personalised support and activities
Care plans reflected people's needs and backgrounds. People could choose activities and suggest new ones.
“People were able to choose what activities they took part in and suggest other activities they would like to do.” from the report
Strong oversight
The manager and provider used regular checks, meetings and audits to monitor the home and act on suggestions.
“The provider had a quality monitoring system in place.” from the report
Accessible information
needs fixingSome information was not available in different formats for people with communication difficulties. Inspectors recommended that the home consider how to improve assisted communication.
“Not all information at the home had been provided to people in differing formats if they had a communication difficulty.” from the report
Limited signage
minorThere was little signage to guide people around the home, despite several people having sight impairment. The manager said this would be reviewed.
“We identified there was very little signage around the home to guide people” from the report
Care information not fully transferred
needs fixingSome health information had not been moved from archive folders into current care folders. This could make it harder for staff to find all relevant information quickly.
“Some people's health information had not been transferred into the new folders.” from the report
Complaints procedure
minorThe written complaints procedure wrongly directed people to the CQC for individual complaints. The home said it corrected this after the inspection.
“We discussed with the registered manager that it directed people to the CQC and this was incorrect” from the report
- 01What formats can you now provide for people who have communication difficulties or cannot read standard information?
- 02What changes have you made to signage for people with eyesight impairment?
- 03How do you make sure all current health information is transferred into each person's main care folder?
- 04What is the current complaints process, and which outside organisation should families contact if they remain unhappy?
- 05How are people's monthly reviews, activities and suggestions used to change their care?
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection of the regulated care home; the weekday day care provision was not inspected. This explanation was written from the published report of 21 March 2018 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 The Homestead
2 rated inspections over 2 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- March 2021Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
- March 2018Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- December 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- August 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- September 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 10 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.
Weigh the report against the rest
Fees, photos and reviews from families
How to read CQC ratings and reports
What to check when you visit
17 live-in carers within about an hour of Devon
These are self-employed carers on PrimeCarers, the introductory agency that runs this directory. Each has a profile with their own rates and reviews from families, and you choose who to talk to.
Most charge £1,020 to £1,270 a week. 15 can care for a couple. 13 years' experience on average.
“She is such a warm and gentle person while being professional and competent at the same time.”
“She looked after my mum, who can be incredibly challenging, so well and so gently, and we always felt confident that my mum was getting the best care available.”
Every carer has had an enhanced DBS check in the last 18 months, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview. Their skills and training are for you to check with them. Carers set their own rates, and who is free changes week to week.