- Care home
Cherrywood House
Report from 8 January 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of Assessment: 28 January to 6 February 2025. The service is a care home providing support to people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of the assessment there were 10 people using the service, with 7 people living in the main house and 3 people living in self-contained annexes. At our last inspection we identified concerns around the cleanliness of the service and repairs to the environment. At this inspection, improvements had been made, the service was clean and in good repair.
We have assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. We found people received care and support in accordance with the principles of this guidance.
People’s individual needs had been considered. People had separate living areas where this suited them, different rooms were also available for people to spend time in communal areas of the home as they wanted, including at mealtimes. People’s communication needs were known and respected, ensuring they had choice and control. Staff supported people to maintain and develop their independence and to make choices and decisions around their care.
People were supported by enough staff who understood their roles and responsibilities and took action to keep people safe. Staff treated people with warmth and compassion and protected their privacy and dignity, they treated people as individuals and supported their preferences.
There was a registered manager in post, and legal and regulatory requirements were met. We found there to be enough staff with the right skills, and experience. Managers ensured staff received training and regular supervision to maintain high-quality care. Staff worked with agencies involved in people’s care for the best outcomes.
People's experience of this service
People living at Cherrywood House were not able to fully express their experiences of the care and support provided for them. We used a combination of observations, reviewing documentation and reviewing feedback from relatives and external professionals to help assess people’s experience.
Relatives were generally happy with the quality of care and support their family members received. One relative said, “The best thing is that the staff are amazing, it is a lovely atmosphere, they go above and beyond. They look after [person] in every way. I wouldn’t change anything.” Another relative told us “The best thing is that all the staff are wonderful, and I don’t have to worry about [person] at all. I always say that even if I won the lottery, I wouldn’t move them.”
We used a structured observation tool to assess whether people who could not directly tell us about their experience received good care. This approach showed care was being delivered in a positive way. People were included and listened to, and staff consistently interacted positively with them.
Relatives and professionals told us people were happy, and staff treated people with kindness and respect. A professional told us a person living at the service “seems happy and has flourished while living there”. A relative said “The best thing about Cherrywood House is the staff. They are so nice, really nice to [person], it makes my life better, because of that. I can’t stress enough how great the staff are.”