- Care home
Adalena House
Assessment report published 9 June 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment 4 March 2026 to 10 April 2026. Adalena House is a care home registered to provide accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care for up to 6 people with a physical disability, learning disability and/or autistic people. At the time of the assessment 6 people were living at the home. This announced inspection was carried out to review the quality of care and compliance with legal regulations.
We assessed all quality statements for the key questions of safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led. We found the provider was in breach of the legal regulations in relation to safe staffing and safe governance and oversight.
We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed autistic people and people with a learning disability respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. We found the service demonstrated understanding of the guidance, but did not always apply it.
Staff were not always recruited in a safe manner, and we could not be assured that staffing levels were always safe. Staffing rotas that we reviewed were not always accurate and identified that some staff had been working long hours in contravention with working time regulations. Medications were not stored or managed safely. Staff reviewed assessments taking account of people’s communication, personal and health needs. However, these reviews were not always documented. Care was not always based on latest evidence and good practice, and it was not always clear that people were involved in the assessment of their needs.
People had enough to eat and drink to stay healthy. Staff worked with all agencies involved in people’s care for the best outcomes and seamless transitions when moving between services. They monitored people’s health to support healthy living; however, this was not always consistently documented. Staff made sure people with capacity understood their care and treatment to enable them to give informed consent. Staff did not always involve those important to people, when making decisions in people’s best interests, and staff had not always documented that the least restrictive options available to people were considered.
Staff treated people with kindness and compassion, and their privacy and dignity was protected. Staff did not always treat people as individuals; we witnessed people being referred to as the “the gang” and “the boys.” Staff supported people’s preferences, people had choice in their care and were encouraged to maintain relationships with family and friends. Systems and processes were not always in place to identify concerns and drive improvements. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment
People's experience of this service
Relatives we spoke with were positive about the care their family member received, and told usthey felt they were safe and well cared for. Relatives praised the registered manager and stafffor their warm, kind and welcoming manner when contacting or visiting the home.
Staff knew how to communicate with people effectively and could responded quickly to people’s verbal and non-verbal cues. Staff knew when people were distressed and were aware ofstrategies to meet their needs and address their anxieties, although these strategies were not always documented. Staff supported people to maintain contact with friends and family by way of using the telephone and taking them to visit family members who lived locally but found it difficult to travel. People we spoke with told us that they liked living at the home and that they were happy.