Winchester House

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 28 April 2025. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Winchester House is a residential care home providing support for up to 9 older people, including people living with dementia. At the time of our assessment there were 9 people living in the service. This assessment was triggered by concerns we had received about the service. The assessment took place between 16 January 2025 and 26 February 2025, including 3 unannounced site visits on 16 and 23 January 2025 and 20 February 2025. For the quality statements we did not assess, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection (published 30 November 2018) to calculate the overall rating. At the last inspection, Winchester House was rated good and was previously rated requires improvement (published 27 June 2018). During this assessment we found concerns with the quality and safety of people’s care. We identified 2 breaches of the legal regulations in relation to the assessment and mitigation of risks and management oversight. Audits and checks were not independently picking up risks which placed people at risk of potential harm. People’s medicines were not always managed safely. Improvements were needed to ensure people were continually supported and had access to a safe environment. Staff worked well as a team, they knew people’s preferred routines, likes and dislikes. However, staffing levels were not being monitored to ensure people were continually supported by enough staff to provide person centred care. During the assessment, the provider who was also the registered manager, told us what action they had made and were taking to address these concerns. This included having an increased presence at the service to provide support and guidance and more thorough audits and analysis of incidents. However, these improvements needed to be embedded to ensure people were consistently receiving safe care.