- Care home
Agnes House
Assessment report published 20 August 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Our view of the service
About the service
Agnes House is a care home. The service is based over 2 floors and has large open plan communal areas.There were 25 people using the service at the time of the inspection.
Who the service is for
Agnes House is a service which supports older people and people with dementia.
Key findings
We carried out this assessment between 29 July and 4 August 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.
Agnes House was led by an experienced management team. Their vision and values were clearly embedded across the staff team and focused on delivering person-centred care, promoting choice, independence and inclusion. Staff and managers consistently demonstrated an understanding of these values. People were actively involved and routinely consulted in their care preferences and social needs and activities.
The registered manager was a visible presence in the service supporting staff when needed and interacting with people who resided at Agnes House. People, relatives and staff were all complimentary about the leadership team and the service as a whole. One person said, “I would definitely recommend it here, there is nothing they could do better; 10 out of 10 I would rate it.” A staff member told us, “Management are really good and encourage good practice. Care standards have always been good, and we are reminded regularly of the home’s philosophy; ‘this is the residents own home’, ‘not just our workplace.”
People were supported by caring and compassionate staff who promoted choice. Staff spoke with and about people with warmth and respect, understanding each person’s individuality and maintaining their dignity. People were encouraged and supported to maintain and develop their independence across all aspects of their daily lives. Staff worked alongside people to help them achieve their goals, make informed decisions and live in line with their preferences, wishes and aspirations.
People were supported by enough safely recruited staff, who had the skills and knowledge to provide effective support. A staff member told us, “The staffing level here is excellent.” Staff told us they were provided with the requisite training and ongoing competency assessments. A staff member said, “We have on site moving and handling training by a staff member who is a ‘train the trainer’. We also have a new ‘training academy’ starting soon. All of this makes sure we [staff] know what we are doing and we can ask for feedback too.”
Staff understood their responsibility to safeguard people from the risk of abuse and understood the actions they should take and who and when to report any concerns to. They were knowledgeable about what concerns they would need to report and to whom. A staff member said, “I would report concerns to manager or the CEO (Chief Executive Officer). If I wasn’t satisfied I would whistleblow to you [CQC]. If the concerns were really urgent, I would go the Police.”
People received their medicines when they needed them however, recording processes required strengthening. These were immediately acted upon and resolved during the inspection. Staff told us they welcomed the action taken to resolve the issue.
Risks to people’s health and well-being were assessed to ensure they were supported with their health conditions. Senior staff, who were key workers to specific people to ensure continuity and oversight, told us they reviewed support plans regularly to ensure they contained relevant and up to date information to manage and mitigate risks. A staff member said, “We work closely with outside professionals where needed where people have specific needs for instance dementia.”
People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority. In care homes, this can be done through a procedure called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), which is part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We checked whether the service was working within the principles of the MCA and how they managed DoLS within the service. Staff and management worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisations were appropriately applied for and overseen. People were not subject to unlawful or excessive restrictions they had choice control and freedom over their lives.
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People's experience of this service
People’s and relative’s feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and they shared many heartwarming examples of the impact of care provided. They consistently described the management team and staff as kind, caring, attentive, approachable and supportive. They told us the service had made a significant positive difference to their loved ones’ physical, emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing. One person said, “I feel safe, absolutely, they are looking out for me all the time. Carers are wonderful! There are plenty of them all the time. They help me bathe when I want to, I only have to ring my bell, and they come straight away. I prefer my door closed at night and they pop in just to check in on me. They give me my tablets twice a day.”
A relative said, “[Name] is doing very well here, and they have thrown themselves into everything. They are settled and enjoying it so much! Friends have been made and they play dominoes together. The staff were very kind and really helped them settle down. Meals are very good and they have so much entertainment going on. The other day they had a ‘Seaside Day’ and a ‘Hog Roast Day’.”
People told us safe care was provided. A person told us, "I do feel safe, absolutely, they are looking out for me all the time.” Relatives held the same view on safe care as their loved ones. "Absolutely safe they are! I feel all residents here are adored and treated wonderfully, I cannot speak more highly of the care here. For my [family member] they have managed to get them eating again, sit with them at mealtimes and got them walking again."
Kind, compassionate and person-centred care was at the heart of the service. Every person and relative we spoke with were keen to tell us of their experience of the care they received and provided us with their own individual story and journey in their feedback.
People’s preferences, wishes and choices were understood and respected, helping to ensure they received person-centred care that met their individual needs. A relative said, “They are very caring and inclusive to [family member]. They [staff] will always ask what they want to do during the day and how they like their care to be provided. When it was our countries national day, they helped them to sing an anthem as they used to teach in our home country. By supporting them with this it enabled them to express their individuality.” A person said, “They are all very nice there’s no problems with staff here. I am never rushed at all, and I always choose what I want to wear. We go shopping and I go out and about regularly. They [the service] arranged for me up to go on a boat trip on Rutland Water and we are going to Foxton Locks very soon too.”
Feedback we received regarding staff was equally positivewith staff being described as respectful, compassionate and professional in their approach. Relatives told us their loved ones were kept safe, received the support they needed, and were encouraged to maintain their independence wherever possible.
A relative said, “This place is absolutely amazing and they look after [name] so well. It’s the best thing ever here and staff are great. I thank them every day for what they do for my [family member] and say thanks for what they do for me too.”
All the people we spoke with said they were listened to and confident concerns or complaints would be addressed. One person said, “I’ve never complained. If I did the carers would sort it out.” A relative said, “The manager is approachable and soon after they arrived some of their clothes went missing. This was raised and it was sorted out straight away.”