- Care home
New Forest Nursing Home
Assessment report published 28 May 2025
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of Assessment: 09 January and 10 January 2025. New Forest Nursing Home provides accommodation with nursing care for up to 48 people. At the time of this assessment there were 38 people using the service. Our assessment was prompted by concerns received about the clinical safety of the home and how this was managed. Incidents and accidents were reported; however, documentation to show how lessons learned were shared with staff was not always available. Despite this, care plans had been updated to reflect any required changes following an incident. Overall, medicines were managed safely. However, we found improvement was needed for ‘as required’ medicines protocols. There were enough staff to meet the needs of people and staff knew how to support people safely. Staff followed safeguarding processes and systems were effective to manage any safeguarding concerns. The service was clean, and we observed staff following infection prevention and control guidelines. Checks for safety had been carried out for the premises and equipment being used. Although we saw some bedrail covers did not completely cover bedrails, the registered manager confirmed new covers had been ordered following our assessment. Staff told us there was an open culture and they felt valued and respected. They spoke positively about the registered manager and clinical manager and told us they felt listened to. Clinical governance processes were effective in maintaining oversight of the service.
Following our initial on-site inspection activity, we received additional information of concern about this location. As a result, we undertook an additional out of hours site visit on 17 March 2025 to complete a welfare check on people and speak with staff.
People's experience of this service
People were overwhelmingly positive about the quality of their care. They felt safe and were fully involved in planning their care. People and their relatives said the atmosphere at the service was positive, calm, and welcoming, with a strong emphasis on dignity and respect for the people who lived there. Families told us about the emotional support extended to both people and their relatives during challenging times. People said they received high quality care from knowledgeable staff who treated them as individuals and said they felt safe and happy with the care and support they received. Relatives spoke positively regarding all aspects of the care and support staff provided. They said the staff team were kind, experienced and knew how to provide care and support in ways people preferred. One person’s relative said, “[Relative] is given every bit of love in [their] care. I know this as I went up to the bedroom and could hear the carers were talking to [relative] so gently all the time, I honestly couldn’t have done it better myself.”
Everyone we spoke with was confident of who to speak to if they had a concern. One person said, “I know I can raise an issue with a carer and either they will sort it or pass it on to someone who can resolve the issue.”