Swaffham and Rugby care homes celebrate Outstanding ratings

Staff at care homes in Swaffham and Rugby have been celebrating after receiving Outstanding ratings from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in recent weeks.

Meadow House Nursing Home in Swaffham and Dewar Close care home in Rugby have received top ratings in the last month.

Meadow House

Swaffham's Meadow House Nursing Home, run by Healthcare Homes Group Ltd, was given the top rating by England’s health and social care watchdog on 5 July, following an inspection in May.

With 38 people with neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and brain injuries, “inspectors were struck by how caring staff were to those using the service,” said Rob Assall-Marsden, the CQC’s head of inspection for adult social care in the central region.

Inspectors said: “On the day of our inspection, a number of relatives specifically sought us out so they could express how impressed they were with the dedication and kindness that the staff showed their family members.”

Staff performed a dance on birthday

"Conversations were friendly and there was a lot of laughter. Some staff were seen singing happy birthday to one person in their room and performing a dance for them which made the person laugh.”

To read the Meadow House report visit www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-121919879

Dewar House

Dewar Close care home in Rugby was rated Outstanding overall in its care of 43 older people including those with dementia, in a report published on 23 June.

Following its inspection in April, the care home, run by WCS Care Group was rated Outstanding for being responsive and well-led and Good for being safe, effective and caring.

Acosia Nyanin, CQC’s head of inspection for Adult Social Care in the central region said: “The home had also been remodelled to include artefacts and different rooms designed to stimulate people’s memories, provoke their curiosity and to help them rest and relax. “People and relatives behaved as if the home were their own home and they maintained their preferred and familiar routines and habits. “Staff took time to understand people's life stories and encouraged people to celebrate important personal and national events.”

To read the Dewar House report visit: www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-113543583

Andrea Sutcliffe, chief inspector of adult social care, said: “An outstanding service is the result of a tremendous amount of hard work and commitment. I would like to thank and congratulate everyone involved.”

On 13 July, the CQC also published 127 reports about adult social care services in Central England. Out of these, 87 care homes and home care agencies received Good ratings, 35 were rated Requires Improvement and one care home received an Inadequate rating.

Suffolk’s Woodbridge Lodge Residential Home, received an Inadequate rating on 9 July.

Inspectors said: “The service did not demonstrate an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) appropriately. Where people who required a referral to the appropriate authority this had not always been carried out and other referrals had been made inappropriately.”

‘Unsafe moving and handling practices” and insufficient numbers of suitable staff to keep people safe were also noted by inspectors.

To read reports on the 127 inspections carried out during the last week on adult social care services in Central England visit: www.cqc.org.uk

On track for September deadline

A spokeswoman for the CQC said: “We are now a full year into our plan of rating all adult social care services in England by September 2016 as either Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement or Inadequate.”