Houndswood House Care Home

Date of inspection: 7 July to 20 July 2026. This inspection was unannounced.

Houndswood House is a care home providing accommodation and personal nursing care for 7 people some of whom were living with dementia. They are registered to provide care for up to 50 people.

At our last inspection, we rated this service as requires improvement (published 26 January 2026). There were breaches of regulations in relation to person-centred care, managing risk, staffing and good governance. Improvements were found at this assessment, and the provider was no longer in breach of these regulations.

A review of feedback we had received from external agencies in relation to risks along with information we held about the service was completed. As a result, a decision was made to carry out a responsive inspection of the areas of safe and well led. At our last inspection, safe and well led were rated as requires improvement. At this inspection, both have improved to good. However, as we did not inspect the key questions of effective, caring and responsive, the overall rating of this service remains requires improvement.

The provider had made the decision to close the home prior to our inspection. At the time of our inspection only 7 people remained in the home and there were plans for them to move alternative accommodation.

The service was experiencing issues with their water supply. As a result, action had been taken by external agencies, and they were working with the provider to address this. This had been an ongoing issue since September 2025 and had not been resolved at the time of this report. Part of the reason for our inspection was to review the impact this had on people. People we spoke with were unphased by the need to use bowls for personal care and hair washing and felt the team managed it well. We found people’s personal care needs had been met.

Houndswood House is a care home.It provides accommodation, personal and nursing care for up to 50 people. At this assessment 17 people were living at the service. This assessment was carried out to follow up on concerns found about the quality and safety of the service at our last assessment. Assessment activity took place between 28 October 2025 and 3 December 2025. We visited the service on 28 October 2025. This was an unannounced assessment completed by 4 inspectors and 1 senior specialist. We received feedback from 15 staff, 2 professionals, 5 people who used the service and 9 relatives. At our last inspection, in April 2025, we rated the service inadequate and identified breaches in relation to medicines management, management of risk, safeguarding, staffing, dignity, person centred care and good governance. We found the service had improved but remained in breach of regulations in relation to person-centred care, managing risk, staffing and good governance.

The provider had not ensured there were enough competent staff to provide safe care. Staff did not always follow care plans or complete monitoring charts for fluid intake and repositioning, leaving people at risk of dehydration and pressure injuries. People’s oral care was inconsistent, and infection prevention control was not always managed well.

The provider had improved incident and safeguarding management by promoting openness and honesty; staff reported incidents more consistently and these were reported to external organisations when required.

The provider had not ensured there was effective communication between all teams.

People’s social needs were not always met, and some were at risk of isolation. Staff did not document distressed behaviours well or consistently. People’s mental capacity assessments did not always show how people were supported to understand decisions.

People’s care was not always tailored to their individual needs and preferences. Staff interactions with people were often task-focused, and some people reported staff were not always kind. People were offered activities, but some people’s preferences were not fully supported.

Staff felt supported, and supervisions were held.

People and relative’s involvement in care planning had improved, and health needs were generally well managed with input from professionals. The provider did not always have information available in accessible formats. Communication with families had improved but remained inconsistent, and complaints were not always recorded.

The provider’s governance systems to monitor the safety and quality of the service were not yet effective. The provider’s training compliance tracking was unreliable, and some competency issues remained. The culture of the home had improved, and staff felt supported. Leadership was more stable, and staff were encouraged to raise concerns.

The provider demonstrated improved collaboration with external partners and responsiveness to feedback. While progress had been made, further work was needed to ensure robust governance and consistently person-centred care.

Where CQC have taken civil or criminal enforcement action against a provider, we will publish this on our website after any representations and/ or appeals have been concluded.

Houndswood House is a care home. It provides accommodation, personal and nursing care for up to 50 people. At this assessment 31 people were living at the service. This was the first assessment of this service under the new provider and was carried out under our single assessment framework. It was brought forward following increased concerns about the quality and safety of care. The last rating for this service under the previous provider was good. Assessment activity took place between 25 February 2025 and 24 April 2025. We visited the service on 25 February 2025, 10 March 2025 and 08 April 2025. This was an unannounced assessment completed by 4 inspectors and 1 Specialist Advisor. We looked at all quality statements and identified breaches in regulations in relation to medicines management, management of risk, safeguarding, staffing, dignity, person centred care and good governance.

People were at risk of harm because medicines were not managed safely. The provider did not identify and manage risk or recognise safeguarding issues and failed to consistently report these to external bodies

There were not enough staff to care for people safely and this led to some people waiting too long for assistance and others telling us they felt lonely. Staff were not trained in all needs people had. Nursing staff had not had their clinical competency checked or training provided to ensure they practiced safely.

The premises were clean and well maintained. However, equipment checks were not always completed.

Staff engagement with people was minimal and task based. The provider did not have effective systems to monitor the quality of the service. They had not promoted a person centred, open culture where staff felt comfortable to raise concerns. Action to address concerns identified by external bodies was slow.

Where CQC have taken civil or criminal enforcement action against a provider, we will publish this on our website after any representations and/ or appeals have been concluded.

This service is being placed in special measures. The purpose of special measures is to ensure that services providing inadequate care make significant improvements. Special measures provide a framework within which we use our enforcement powers in response to inadequate care and provide a timeframe within which providers must improve the quality of the care they provide.