• Services in your home
  • Homecare service

Honeydew Healthcare Ltd

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Hartham Park, Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 0RP 07960 767397

Provided and run by:
Honeydew Healthcare Limited

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Honeydew Healthcare Limited is a homecare agency providing the regulated activity personal care to people living with dementia, mental health conditions, people with physical disabilities, people over 65 years of age and people under 65 years of age. At the time of our assessment there were 5 people receiving a regulated service. We visited the service on 20 October 2025. The inspection was carried out because of the length of time since the last assessment.

The assessment was a fully comprehensive inspection, which looked at key areas which included infection prevention control, medicines management, staffing, choice and control, governance, management, leadership and safeguarding people. During the last inspection we found the service was in breach of regulation 12 regarding assessing, monitoring and mitigating risks to the health safety and welfare of people using the service, regulation 17 regarding systems to monitor people were receiving safe and effective care in line with their needs and a breach of regulation 19 regarding safe recruitment of staff. During this inspection we found improvements in all these areas had been made and the service was no longer in breach of regulations.

The provider demonstrated exceptional practice in ensuring people were put first. The provider had embedded a strong, proactive safety culture that prioritised openness, transparency and continuous learning. Staff consistently demonstrated an advanced understanding of risk management, enabling people to take positive risks while remaining safe.

People were fully involved in decisions about their safety, and care plans contained detailed, dynamic risk assessments tailored to individual needs. Leaders worked collaboratively with healthcare professionals and families to develop seizure-safe travel plans which included specialist training and emergency protocols. This approach empowered people to maintain independence and control over their lives.

Environmental safety was embedded into everyday practice. Staff were trained to identify hazards and escalate concerns promptly, supported by regular competency checks and scenario-based learning. Proactive referrals ensured homes were adapted to meet changing needs, enabling people to feel safe and respected in their own environment.

Staffing was consistently safe and effective. There were always enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people’s needs, and continuity of care was maintained even during sickness. Recruitment processes were effective, and training was embedded into practice through competency observations and team meetings.

The provider demonstrated strong lessons learned from incidents and shared these through ‘key points’ documents and additional training to ensure continuous improvement. People told us they felt safe, and they trusted staff, and relatives confirmed the service was highly responsive and inclusive.

This distinctive, person-centred approach to safety, combined with strong governance and a culture of learning, meant people consistently experienced care that was not only safe but empowering and enabling.

27 June 2022

During a routine inspection

About the service

Honeydew Healthcare Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. They provide this either in the form of regular visits to people or live in staff. People had a range of needs and some were more complex. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People and those important to them had mixed feedback about how well supported they were by staff. Some felt that they had very supportive, kind and caring staff led by a strong registered manager. However, others with more complex needs were less positive about their experiences.

Shortfalls were found with medicine administration and management including the lack of guidance for ‘as required’ medicine. Improvements were required to risk assessments to ensure consistent care in line with current best practice. Learning was starting to happen from things that went wrong, and systems were being developed.

Staff had a range of training and there was a drive to promote continual professional development. However, staff lacked skills to support people with more complex needs. This was reflected in gaps in training which could potentially lead to poor and unsafe practices by staff. Care plans often lacked the details and guidance for staff leading to a potential risk of inconsistent care and support being delivered.

People were supported to have choice and control of their lives. However, records did not always demonstrate how people were supported in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not always support this practice.

The registered manager had a clear vision for the service and wanted to ensure people received the best care possible. However, systems to monitor the support being delivered not consistent and improvements were made during the inspection. This placed people at risk of harm and poor care.

End of life care plans had not been considered for every person receiving care at the service. Although, when people had expressed a wish not to talk about this it had been respected.

Following the inspection, the provider updated us on improvements that had already been made since the inspection.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was registered with us on 23 December 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received following the outcome of a safeguarding investigation by the local authority safeguarding team. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe, effective, responsive and well led sections of this full report.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, recruitment and governance of the service at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

We have also made a recommendation around decision making for people lacking capacity.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect..