Hailsham care home rated 'good' following CQC inspection after concerns raised for safety of people in home

Caroline House, in Ersham Road, is a residential care service that provides support for up to 28 older people living with dementia, mental health needs and sensory impairment. This assessment took place from November 11 to the November 21, 2024.

Assessors from the CQC carried out carried out on-site visits on 11 and 18 November 2024 following reports of ‘concerns raised about the safety of people and the management of the service and governance systems’.

At the time of this assessment there were 21 people living in the home.

Following the inspection the home was rated ‘good’ across three categories, being that the service was ‘safe’, ‘effective’, ‘caring’ and ‘responsive’.

However, under the category of the service being ‘well-led’ it was deemed to require improvement by the CQC assessor.

The care home was praised for the way its staff helped care for people and provided for their needs.

The assessment stated: “We did not identify any significant issues during this assessment and the service has remained Good, with areas identified for improvement regarding peoples' documentation, oversight of staff practice in respect of infection control procedures, moving and handling and the management structure.

"Overall people were received a good standard of care and staff managed risks safely and effectively in a safe and clean environment.

"Staff and management knew people well and received an induction, training and support that enabled them to manage people’s health and social care in a safe way. People received their prescribed medicines to manage their health needs and people received additional support from external health professionals when it was required.”

Leadership changes, however, were deemed to have impacted both staff and visitors negatively.

The assessment added: “We found recent changes in leadership had impacted on people, visitors and staff negatively.

"This was because the registered manager was not as visible or accessible due to supporting other services in the organisation.

"Staff and visitors were not sure of who was in day to day management of Caroline House. People's documentation was not always reflective of people's needs.”