CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Darwin House Limited
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, March 2020
Darwin House Limited was rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with a new electronic care-record system still being introduced.
This was an unannounced planned re-inspection on 4 February 2020. Inspectors spoke with people living in the home, relatives, staff and visiting professionals. They observed care and checked care plans, medicines records, training information and management records.
The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough suitably trained staff, safe medicines practice, clean and well-maintained surroundings, and care that reflected people's needs and choices.
People and relatives gave very positive feedback. Inspectors found kind and respectful care, good food, activities and support for relationships and faith. The home also worked with health and social care professionals.
The home was introducing an electronic care planning and monitoring system to improve records and oversight. The previous overall rating was Good, published in July 2015. A 2017 inspection report was withdrawn because of an issue with some information gathered.
Safe staffing and medicines
Inspectors found suitable staffing levels, thorough recruitment checks and safe medicines practice. Staff received training and regular checks of their medicines skills.
“People continued to receive their medicines as prescribed. Medicines were stored, administered and disposed of safely.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
People and relatives consistently described staff as caring, helpful and respectful. Inspectors observed dignity, patience and kindness during the visit.
“People were treated with respect, patience, and kindness. This was observed throughout the day of our inspection visit.” from the report
Food and dining
Food was a clear strength. Inspectors found a high standard of dining, with choices and attention to specialist dietary needs.
“Care and attention was taken to ensure the dining experience was delivered to a very high standard.” from the report
Personalised support
Care plans recorded people's needs, preferences and backgrounds. People could choose how to spend their time, and communication was adapted when needed.
“People continued to receive care and support which was personalised to them.” from the report
Clean and well-maintained home
The home was found to be exceptionally clean and well maintained. Its layout and communal areas supported people, including those using wheelchairs.
“The environment was exceptionally clean and well maintained.” from the report
Strong leadership and improvement
Inspectors found robust quality checks and regular involvement of people, relatives and staff in how the home was run and improved.
“Quality assurance processes were robust and embedded into practice.” from the report
Electronic records were still being introduced
minorA new electronic care planning and monitoring system was being put in place to improve care records and oversight. Families should ask whether this change is now complete and working well.
“An electronic care planning system was being implemented to support the improvement and development of care planning and record keeping.” from the report
- 01How is the electronic care planning and monitoring system working now, and are all care records complete and up to date?
- 02How will you record and support my relative's communication needs, preferences, faith, relationships and independence?
- 03How do you check that staffing levels remain suitable for people's needs, including during busy periods?
- 04How would you support my relative if they needed specialist food, end of life care or extra health support?
- 05How can families raise concerns, and how are complaints recorded and used to improve the home?
This was an unannounced planned re-inspection covering the home, care and all five CQC questions, using conversations, observations and records; a provider information return was not requested. This explanation was written from the published report of 5 March 2020 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of Darwin House Limited
2 rated inspections over 5 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- March 2020Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- July 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- November 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- April 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 12 January 2011.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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90 live-in carers within about an hour of Sheffield
These are self-employed carers on PrimeCarers, the introductory agency that runs this directory. Each has a profile with their own rates and reviews from families, and you choose who to talk to.
Most charge £1,020 to £1,270 a week. 76 can care for a couple. 11 years' experience on average.
“Carla has been a god send with the implementation of bringing mum back home from respite care.”
“Beatrice was a talent dementia carer whose professionalism and dedication allowed mums wishes to remain in her own her come true.”
Every carer has had an enhanced DBS check in the last 18 months, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview. Their skills and training are for you to check with them. Carers set their own rates, and who is free changes week to week.