Cheverells Care Home

Ratings

• Overall

  Requires improvement

• Safe

  Requires improvement

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Good

• Well-led

  Requires improvement

Our view of the service

Cheverells Care Home is a residential service located in North Devon. They are registered to provide accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care for up to 38 people. At the time of this assessment, there were 36 people living at the service. We assessed all quality statements under the five key questions of safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. Date of on-site assessment visits,30 September 2025 and 1 October 2025. Further review of documents took place off site, 7 until 30 October 2025. Our Expert by Experience spoke by phone with people and their relatives living at Cheverells Care Home on 2 October 2025

At our last inspection, Cheverells Care Home was rated good (published June 2018). At this assessment, we found 3 breaches of the legal regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, good governance and staffing. The home is now rated requires improvement.

This assessment was unannounced due to concerns around infection, prevention and control, management oversight and staffing.

The service has a registered manager who is also the nominated individual. During the assessment we identified areas of risk associated with monitoring infection, prevention and control, the safe administration of medicines, staffing and management oversight. The systems and processes in place were not always sufficient to effectively monitor the quality of the service.

However, detailed assessments were completed with people, and their relatives, prior to people starting to use the service. Records included information about people’s health conditions, and staff worked well with health and social care professionals. Assessments of people’s capacity, and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) applications were made where required.

There was a friendly and relaxed atmosphere throughout the home. We observed staff supported people in an unhurried and respectful way. Staff were friendly, polite and pleasant. They treated people with empathy and compassion and spoke fondly about the people they supported. People’s individuality and personal, cultural, social and religious needs were understood, valued and respected.

We have identified breaches of regulation at this assessment in relation to safe care and treatment, staffing and governance.

We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found during this assessment.

People's experience of this service

While the people and their relatives we spoke with expressed satisfaction with the care provided, our assessment identified aspects of care which did not meet expected standards. People and their families spoke positively about the care home, its staff, and management. People expressed feeling safe with staff and were satisfied with the support they received. They confirmed their needs were met through collaboration between staff and relevant health and social care professionals. Staff were described as kind, chatty, and caring, with people feeling valued by those who showed genuine interest in their well-being and quality of life. Comments we received included, “They’re all very kind here, we’re well cared for." When asked about the service management, one person told us, “We appreciate the approachability of the management team, describing the deputy manager as welcoming and open, with an accessible office policy where visitors can discuss any concerns.”