Old Alresford Cottage

Ratings

• Overall

  Good

• Safe

  Good

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Good

• Well-led

  Good

Our view of the service

We carried out this inspection from 13 April to 7 May 2026. This assessment was carried out in response to information we had received about the service. Old Alresford Cottage is a care home without nursing for up to 44 people. At the time of our assessment 37 people were using the service. We assessed 19 quality statements from the safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led key questions. We have combined the scores for these areas with scores from the last inspection to give the rating for this assessment.

We found 1 breach of the legal regulations in relation to safe and effective staffing. The provider had not always sought satisfactory verification of the reason staff left all previous roles in health and social care and had not always sought evidence of their conduct in these roles.

At the last inspection we found breaches of legal regulation in relation to managing risk and good governance. At this inspection enough improvement had been made, and the provider was no longer in breach of these regulations.

We found medicines were managed safely. Improvements had been made in relation to managing risk and to most governance systems.

The provider had a good incident learning culture and people could raise concerns. Managers investigated incidents thoroughly. People were protected and kept safe. Staff understood and managed risks. Managers made sure staff received training and regular support to maintain good-quality care. People received their medicines as prescribed.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy and dignity. They treated them as individuals and supported their preferences. People had choice in their care and were encouraged to maintain relationships with family and friends. Staff responded to people in a timely way. The provider supported staff wellbeing.

People knew how to give feedback and were confident the provider took it seriously and acted on it. People received fair and equal care and treatment and were involved in planning their care.

Leaders and staff had a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and trust. Leaders were visible, knowledgeable, and supportive, helping staff develop in their roles. Staff felt supported to give feedback and were treated equally, free from bullying or harassment. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities.

People's experience of this service

People and their relatives were consistently positive about the quality of their care. They felt safe, were involved in planning their care and understood their rights. People said they received high quality care from knowledgeable staff who treated them as individuals. They described how staff treated them kindly and made sure any personal care was done sensitively, preserving their privacy and dignity. One person told us, “Staff are respectful and treat me with dignity.” People also said the service provided good activities which supported them to keep physically and mentally active. We carried out observations to assess whether people received good care. This approach showed people were included and listened to and staff consistently interacted positively with them. People felt able to complain and where confident action would be taken, and felt improvements would be made. People knew staff and leaders well.