The Homestead

Who the service is for

The Homestead care home provides support for older people some of whom may live with dementia.

Key findings

We carried out this assessment on the 14 October. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.

People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority. In care homes, this can be done through a procedure called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), which is part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We checked whether the service was working within the principles of the MCA and how they managed DoLS within the service. We found that staff and management worked within the MCA. DoLS authorisations were appropriately applied for and overseen. People were not subject to unlawful or excessive restrictions, they had choice, control and freedom over their lives.

People were supported by enough staff who had the skills and knowledge to support them safely. Risks were assessed and people were involved in the process. There were effective systems in place to safeguard people from abuse. People and their relatives told us the home was safe, one person said, “Yes, thank you, I am well looked after.”

Medicines were administered safely and there were systems in place to ensure the environment was safe. The home was nicely decorated, well maintained and homely. Staff understood the importance of ensuring people were safe. People told us the home was clean and tidy. One person said, “Yes, I am happy with the cleaning of my room.”

Effective systems were in place to ensure the quality of care was checked on a regular basis. Staff had training in a range of areas to enable them to do their jobs effectively. The team engaged with health care professionals when required.