Rated Care Homes

Unity House

G

Good

Rated on

Rating from the Care Quality Commission.

At a glance

  • 5 ratings

    Its last inspection improved it from Requires improvement to Good.

  • 4 years

    since the latest rating was published. A rating this old may not show how the service is today.

  • 117 of 136

    rated care homes in County Durham are rated Good, like this one.

Unity House: inspection record

Care home, 21 beds, County Durham

Rated Good in March 2023, up from Requires improvement.

Unity House: inspection record: inspection ratings by year, 2015 to 2026
201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Overall
Safe
Effective
Caring
Responsive
Well-led

Ratings published by the Care Quality Commission.

Compare nearby

  1. G
    Peterlee Care Home Good, less than 0.1 miles away
  2. G
    Grampian Court Good, 0.6 miles away
  3. G
    Bannatyne Lodge Good, 0.6 miles away
  4. G
    Langley House Care Centre Good, 0.7 miles away
  5. O
    The Hawthorns Outstanding, 0.8 miles away

See all care homes in County Durham

See all care homes in Peterlee

About the service

From the Care Quality Commission's inspection report published 25 March 2023. Quoted under the Open Government Licence.

Unity House is a residential service providing personal care for up to 22 people with a learning disability. At the time of the inspection there were 11 people living at the service. Unity House provides accommodation over two floors across one large purpose-built house and some areas of the home have been converted to self-contained flats.

What inspectors found

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. 'Right support, right care, right culture' is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Read the rest of CQC's summary

Right Support People were regularly asked for their opinions and gave them freely. People were involved in discussions about their support and given information in a way they understood. Where people had support, they told us this was flexible, available when they needed it and to the level they needed. People were supported safely with medicines. Infection prevention and control practices reflected current guidance.

Right Care Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. The provider understood the new electronic assessment tool required further enhancement to ensure it fully covered people's needs.

Right culture The service was open to new ways of working and ongoing improvements were introduced to promote independence and inclusivity. Staff placed people's wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. They sought advice and feedback from everyone involved in people's care. Staff were aware of and were working to best practice guidance for supporting people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

Questions to ask when you visit

  1. The last rating is 4 years old. Ask what has changed since then.
  2. Ask to see the most recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) report and what the home did about any points in it.
  3. Visit at different times of day, including a mealtime.

Registration details

Registered with the CQC since
What it provides
Care home service without nursing
Who it supports
Learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, Older People, Younger Adults

Inspection report

Read the full inspection report (opens the Care Quality Commission website)

5 inspection reports, latest 25 March 2023. The reports are on the Care Quality Commission website.

The rating is the Care Quality Commission's. We show it as published and do not change it.

Who runs it

Provider
Lifeways Community Care LimitedBrand: Lifeways Community Care
Ownership type
Organisation
Companies House number
04126127 (opens Companies House)

Lifeways Community Care Limited runs 33 services in England, 4 of them in the North East. 20 are rated Good or Outstanding, 4 are rated Requires improvement or Inadequate and 9 have no rating yet.

Other services run by Lifeways Community Care Limited

  1. G
    Abbeymoor Neurodisability Centre Good. Care home with nursing, Gateshead
  2. G
    Barleycombe Good. Care home, Suffolk, East of England
  3. G
    Beeton Grange Good. Care home, Birmingham, West Midlands
  4. G
    Bulwell Good. Care home, Nottingham, East Midlands

See all 33 services run by Lifeways Community Care Limited

Getting help from Durham County Council

The council can assess what care someone needs and tell them what help with the cost they may get.

Checked on the council's website, November 2026.

Common questions

Does Unity House provide nursing care?
No. The Care Quality Commission lists Unity House as a care home without nursing.
How many beds does Unity House have?
The Care Quality Commission's register lists 21 beds at Unity House.
When was Unity House last inspected?
The Care Quality Commission's latest rating for Unity House was published on 25 March 2023.
Who runs Unity House?
Unity House is run by Lifeways Community Care Limited. It runs 33 services in England, 4 of them in the North East.
What is Unity House's CQC rating?
Its overall rating from the Care Quality Commission is Good, published on 25 March 2023.

Contact

Address
Westcott Road, Peterlee, SR8 5JE Map (opens Google Maps)
Read the full inspection report (opens the Care Quality Commission website)

Compare nearby

  1. G
    Peterlee Care Home Good, less than 0.1 miles away
  2. G
    Grampian Court Good, 0.6 miles away
  3. G
    Bannatyne Lodge Good, 0.6 miles away
  4. G
    Langley House Care Centre Good, 0.7 miles away
  5. O
    The Hawthorns Outstanding, 0.8 miles away

See all care homes in County Durham

See all care homes in Peterlee