Highgrove

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 1 April 2026. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Date of assessment 11 February to 11 March 2026. We visited the service on 11 February 2026.

Highgrove is a care home providing personal care to older people some of whom were living with dementia. The service can support up to 67 people. At the time of this assessment 60 people were living at Highgrove.

We last rated this service under our previous methodology in January 2020 where it was inspected and rated as good. At this assessment we reviewed all 5 key questions and the rating remains good.

Highgrove is a purpose-built care home and overall was clean, tidy and well maintained. During our visit we noted some areas had heating issues leading to the use of portable heaters. Although risk assessments were in place, the ongoing nature of the problem meant risks were not fully mitigated. The registered manager had already installed some cool-touch heaters and, after discussion, immediately ordered additional units as a safer interim option while a long-term solution was agreed.

Care records were person centred and were seen to be reviewed regularly. Staff completed risk assessments and regularly reviewed these. However, during our visit we noted that some risks were not always fully mitigated in practice. We raised this with the registered manager who took immediate action.

Medicines were administered safely and learning from audits applied. Issues noted were promptly addressed.

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.

People were supported by staff who were safely recruited and trained.

People were protected from the risks of abuse and staff were trusted to keep them safe. Staff had received training in how to safeguard people. Lessons were learnt from incidents and shared with staff.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff protected people’s privacy and dignity, treated them as individuals and supported their preferences.

Governance systems, audits and checks were in place to support safety and quality. Lessons learned from events were completed to mitigate future risk.