4 January 2024
During a routine inspection
Castlewellan house is a care home providing personal care to up to 18 people. The service provides support to older people. At the time of our inspection there were 17 people using the service.
The care home is split across 2 floors, there is a lift in place to support people with mobility needs. Bedrooms have ensuites. A newly refurbished garden area can be found at the back of the property which provides a quiet and social space for people to share.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The registered manager and provider demonstrated a gap in knowledge and understanding regarding reporting incidents to the local authority in line with local reporting procedures. Medicines management in the home needed improvement. This included how controlled medicines were monitored and how medicines records were maintained.
Care plans and risk assessments were being transferred onto a new system and we identified guidance for staff could be improved. However, care plans were person centred.
There was a lack of activities taking place and we found at times people were disengaged. There was a planner in place for activities, however people told us they did not always take place.
People who lived in the home we observed were happy, well presented and had received support with their personal care needs. People we spoke with told us how they enjoy living in the home.
The provider and registered manager had made positive changes to the home since becoming the care provider. A development plan and actions to further improve the home were in progress with completion dates set.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service with the previous provider was Good. (published 8 May 2019) Since our last inspection a new provider is in place.
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about lack of reporting when people had falls and poor governance. Following a local authority quality visit, it was identified that falls management and reporting needed improvement. Furthermore, due to the change in provider the home was planned to have a full comprehensive inspection.
The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well led sections of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘All inspection reports and timeline’ link for