- Care home
Shottermill House
Assessment report published 30 September 2025
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 05 August to 13 August 2025.
Shottermill House is a residential care home providing care and support to up to 31 older people living with multiple health support needs and physical disabilities, some of whom also live with dementia. At the time of this assessment there were 31 people living and receiving care in the home. We inspected the service as we received concerns in relation to staffing and the quality of care in the home.
People received safe, personalised care meeting their physical health. Staff also ensured they enabled people to enjoy doing things that supported their psychological, social and spiritual needs. Staff knew how to protect people from the risk of abuse, neglect or avoidable harm. People’s care was planned and coordinated, with other social care and healthcare professionals being involved as and when needed. There were enough appropriately qualified and supported staff to provide timely and safe care to people. People overall received safe support with their medicines. Staff communicated with people well and involved them in their care, asked for choices and treated them as valued individuals. People were supported to do things they loved and live the lifestyle of their choice, in line with their personal values and beliefs. Staff and management were always exceptionally caring and kind, which was unanimously praised by people, their relatives and volunteers supporting the home as the most distinctive attribute of the home. The home was comfortable, accessible for people and well-maintained. Staff followed safe practice in infection prevention and control and worked well as a team to provide consistent care which brought positive outcomes to people. The registered manager ensured lessons learned were implemented following review of accidents, incidents, safeguarding concerns, audits and checks carried out in the home. The management team were approachable, visible and ensured the home’s culture was consistently monitored to align with provider’s values of transparency, compassion, community and excellence. Staff were encouraged to provide their feedback and speak up when they had any concerns. The home worked well with other healthcare and social care services and was involved in their local community. Staff felt supported, valued and treated with respect by the provider. The management team used various opportunities for learning and improvement, for example, by acting on outcomes of the quality and safety checks or working in line with national best practice guidance. However, not all shortfalls around record keeping, for example, in relation to people’s care plans and daily care records, behavioural incidents monitoring, ‘when required’ medicines guidance and records were identified as improvement needs within provider audits. The management team were responsive to our feedback and clarified information in people’s records during the assessment. They also identified actions required to improve recording in the service and started implementing those actions by working with their staff team.
People's experience of this service
People and their relatives felt the home was safe, clean and comfortable. They said staff knew people’s individual needs and risks well. One person said, “I feel safe and looked after here, they are really lovely staff.” A relative told us reflecting the same feedback we received from others, “They (staff) understand the risk.” People’s relatives told us lessons were learned where people’s needs had changed, and swift actions were taken by staff to adjust their care to ensure their safety and wellbeing. People and their relatives told us their experience of moving into the home was positive and their care was continuously reviewed and well-coordinated. There were enough staff to provide timely care to people. People told us they knew how to call for assistance and staff would attend promptly. People said they received safe support with their medicines and to access healthcare when needed. One person said, “I definitely have my medicines regularly, [staff] come round like clockwork.” Another person commented, “We are well looked after here. If we need a doctor, he comes, straight away too.” People’s relatives recognised the care provided in the home had a positive impact on their loved ones, for example, on their health, psychological and spiritual wellbeing, comfort and willingness to accept support from staff when needed. People and their relatives told us staff asked people for their consent for care, communicated with people well, involved them and respected their wishes. People and their relatives told us staff were exceptionally and consistently patient, caring and kind. Comments included, “[Staff] are ever so nice to us, always kind”, “Their (staff’s) patience is amazing”, “What makes it special - everybody is genuine, helps each other and want it to be a really happy place, so people are safe and content. Hummingbirds (staff providing additional one to one support to people) are wonderful”, “[Staff] are unfailingly nice, very warm and helpful towards [my relative] and me, caring side is extremely good”, “Nothing is too much trouble (for staff)”, “They go out of their way and understand the individual.” People told us staff knew them well as individuals and provided person-centred care. One person said, “They do know me here and know what I like and what I don’t like.” A relative commented, “[Staff] really went to great lengths to find out who [person] is and what his interests are.” People told us the management of the home were approachable, visible and caring. They communicated with people and their relatives well and were said to be efficient and compassionate.