Acer Mews

We carried out an unannounced site visit on 25th February and 5th March 2026

Acer mews is a nursing home providing personal and nursing care to people living with a range of complex needs including mental health conditions, sensory and physical disabilities and dementia. The home can support up to 28 people across two units in a single storey purpose-built building. At the time of our visit the service was supporting 14 people.

At our last inspection, we found a breach of regulations in relation to how people were supported to safely take their medicines. At this inspection, we found the provider had taken action to address these concerns, and the service was no longer in breach of regulation.

The purpose of this assessment was to ensure the provider had taken action to address concerns identified at our previous inspection and addressed concerned raised by the coroner following the death of a service user.

People generally received safe care, and staff understood risks and how to manage them. Systems were in place to learn from incidents. Safeguarding procedures were understood, and people and families said they felt safe raising concerns. The environment was well maintained, with ongoing improvements to décor and dementia‑friendly design. Staffing levels were appropriate, and infection control measures were broadly effective. Medicines were managed safely overall, although some recording practices required further improvement.

People’s needs were assessed and reviewed, and staff worked with internal and external professionals to support effective care. Care plans were generally person‑centred. Rehabilitation and recovery support had a positive impact for some people, and staff worked consistently to help people maintain their health and wellbeing. People were supported to access healthcare when needed. Staff followed the principles of the Mental Capacity Act, and people reported being able to make day‑to‑day choices about their care.

Staff and families reported positive experiences with the registered manager, who had recently taken up the role. Governance processes provided oversight of key areas, and audits were used to identify improvements. The provider encouraged feedback from people, relatives and staff and had introduced initiatives to support staff wellbeing. Work with external partners and the local community continued to develop and people were supported to regularly access the local community.

We carried out a site visit on 23 April and 8 May 2025

Acer mews is a nursing home providing personal and nursing care to people living with a range of complex needs including mental health conditions, sensory and physical disabilities and dementia. The home can support up to 28 people across two units in a single storey purpose built building. At the time of our visit the service was supporting 12 people with a range of complex needs.

This was the first inspection of this newly registered service. At this inspection we found a breach in relation to how people were supported to safely take their medicines. The registered manager was aware of shortfalls noted around medicines, and was working to address these and embed good practice. People generally felt safe, but there had been some safeguarding concerns and work was ongoing to ensure lessons were learnt appropriately. Risks had not always been appropriately assessed, with action taken to update and review records following incidents. We received mixed feedback about staffing levels, but staff were recruited following appropriate processes and staff appeared to know people. The environment was clean and tidy.

Appropriate records of consent had not been obtained although we noted staff requested consent from people for day to day decisions. Records in relation to mental capacity and best interest were not always easily available to staff to ensure they understood how to support people in line with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act or any Deprivation of Liberties safeguards. The registered manager was responsive to addressing these concerns. Care records did not always contain sufficient detail to reflect how people were being safely supported and assessment records were not always fully completed. People were supported to access other services and to attend any appointments needed. Staff appeared to have good working relationships with other professionals. We received some mixed feedback about the food, which some people felt did not meet their preferences, but work was ongoing to develop menus and meet specific preferences.

People generally told us staff were kind and caring and we observed positive interactions. People were supported to make decisions as much as possible and supported to access and engage with the local community. The provider had schemes in place to support and value the staff team.

Care plans and care records did not always demonstrate how personalised care was being delivered. We noted improvements were needed to care plans, particularly in relation to planning care for people approaching the end of their life, to ensure care was not just task focused. We observed staff knew people well and supported them to engage in activities in line with their preferences. There were processes in place to obtain feedback from people, families and staff.

People, families and staff all spoke highly of the new registered manager and noted that they had been driving improvements needed. However, at the time of the inspection further work was required to ensure processes were being used effectively and embedded into practice.