Selwood House Care Home

Chestnut Road, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 9FN

CQC Location ID:1-17430223409

Ratings

Overall: Good
Safe: Good
Effective: Good
Caring: Good
Responsive: Good
Well-led: Good

Our view of the service

Date of assessment was 2 September 2025 to 9 September 2025. We visited the service to inspect on 2 and 4 September 2025. Selwood House Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 85 adults, some of whom were living with dementia. At the time of our assessment there were 55 people living at the service.This was a responsive inspection after we received several concerns about care delivery at the service. We noted concerns with recruitment procedures and medicines administration during our assessment, all of which were addressed immediately and remedied before our assessment ended. The provider was responsive to our findings and consistently applied learning from accidents and incidents to improve the safety of the service. However, we were concerned internal auditing had not noted the concerns we found at inspection. Care was planned and delivered in line with current best practice and regular ward rounds delivered by a local frailty team and a GP took place ensuring people received timely treatment for health concerns. Relevant monitoring of health was completed and shared with relevant professionals. People were supported to plan for their future. Staff were caring and kind to people and knew them well, supporting them with empathy. People were supported to maintain their independence whenever possible, and person-centred support was provided in a timely way when needed. Staff participated in regular 1-to-1 supervision with the management team and were supported to develop their knowledge and practice through training and regular workshops run by the registered manager. A twice-yearly survey ensured feedback was gathered from people, relatives and staff to inform service developments. There was an open culture, and staff were confident they would be supported by the registered manager should they raise concerns. The registered manager had been in post since May 2025 and had made significant improvements This was supported by feedback from people, relatives, staff and healthcare professionals.

People's experience of this service

People’s relatives believed their family members were safely cared for at Selwood House Care Home. Some relatives believed staffing numbers could be improved however the provider assured us they were currently staffed at above the calculated dependency levels. Relatives told us there had been improvements in the service since the registered manager commenced at the service. They were very complimentary about the staff team and saw their family members being cared for kindly by staff who knew them well. Relatives had completed quality assurance questionnaires to tell the provider their views about Selwood House Care Home.