- Care home
SeeAbility - Heather House Nursing Home
Assessment report published 8 June 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
We carried out this inspection from 1 May to 18 May 2026. The service is a residential care home providing support to people with a learning disability and autistic people. There were 14 people living in the home at the time of our inspection. We assessed this service due to receiving information of concern. We inspected 33 quality statements. This service had previously been rated good.
We found 1 breach of regulations in relation to governance.
We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choice, independence, and good access to local communities which most people take for granted. We found people did not always receive care and support in accordance with the principles of this guidance.
We found concerns related to fire safety which put people at risk of harm. There were inconsistencies and missing information in some care plans. Not all safeguarding concerns had been reported to the relevant stakeholder. We found concerns relating to the storage of food. Medicines were not always stored safely. The provider’s internal monitoring systems failed to identify all of the concerns we found during this inspection and robust action had therefore not been taken to make improvements. The registered manager and provider were motivated to improve the service and started addressing these shortfalls during the inspection.
People’s needs were assessed and reviewed. People were supported by staff who treated them with kindness and respected their dignity. Staff ensured people’s care and support met individual needs and preferences.
There was a system in place for responding to concerns or complaints. A dedicated management team led the service. Staff were able to raise concerns and told us managers were approachable and supportive.
Staff were recruited safely and received appropriate training and supervision. Staff were trained to respond and raise safeguarding concerns both internally and to external agencies.
The provider learned from incidents and action was taken to ensure improvements were made where needed.
People's experience of this service
We spoke with some relatives and used observation to assess whether people received good care. We undertook an observation using Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). This meant we observed 2 people for 30 minutes, recording their mood, well-being, activities, and interactions with staff during this time. We observed staff were kind.
We spoke with relatives, 1 relative told us, “[Relatives name] is absolutely safe. I think there’s enough staff and they are very well trained. [Relatives name] has a full care plan and is very happy there. I would be able to tell if my relative was unhappy. Staff have got to know [Relatives name] very well and would also know if they were unhappy.” Another relative told us, “[Relatives name] is definitely safe. There is enough staff. My relative has a very rare and complex condition. Staff know all the signs; they are very good. To be honest, I am thankful my relative lives at Heather House. They’re so good with Epilepsy care. Sometimes I just turn up to visit unannounced. All the staff are friendly and very attentive. They’re all very good.”
Relatives also told us the home was mostly clean, and they were happy with the care their relative received. They told us they are kept up to date with relevant information, and the registered manager was contactable if they have any concerns.