Castlewellan House

People were described as happy and well presented. Inspectors saw staff listening, seeking consent and respecting privacy, dignity and independence.

“People who lived in the home we observed were happy, well presented and had received support with their personal care needs.” from the report

Care plans were person centred and people had choices about their care and daily lives. Staff knew people's likes and dislikes.

“Care plans were person centred, however, further development to ensure all peoples characteristics were captured was required.” from the report

People had a balanced diet, regular drinks and the option to request different food. Meals were freshly cooked.

“The food in the home was homemade by allocated kitchen cooks, we observed meals were cooked from fresh and desserts such as cakes were made on the day.” from the report

The provider had made changes to the building and had a formal plan setting out further improvements and responsibilities.

“The provider had a formal improvement plan which identified outcomes to achieve for the home and who was responsible.” from the report

Controlled medicines were not always checked as required. Some as-required guidance was missing, and some medicine records did not explain why two staff signatures were not present.

“Controlled medicines were not always checked in line with the provider's-controlled drug policy.” from the report

The provider and manager did not always report incidents to local authorities in line with local arrangements. This was one reason the inspection was prompted.

“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.” from the report

Medicine audits had not identified the problems found by inspectors. This reduced assurance that the home's safety systems were working properly.

“Medicines audits in place were not effective in identifying the concerns recorded under the safe section of this report.” from the report

There was a planner, but people said activities did not always happen. Inspectors saw that people could become disengaged because there were too few activities.

“There was a lack of activities taking place and we found at times people were disengaged.” from the report

Inspectors saw occasions when there was no staff member or monitoring in the communal lounge. The home needed to improve how staff were positioned during the day.

“For example, we observed on a number of occasions there being no staff or monitoring in the communal lounge.” from the report