CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Derwent Cottage
Rated Outstanding: inspectors found the home performing exceptionally well.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors were assured that the home was preventing infection risks, using protective equipment safely, arranging testing and following visiting guidance. They also found that staffing pressures linked to COVID-19 had been considered.
- Effective?
- Outstanding
- Does the care work? Training, consent, food and drink, working with GPs and nurses.
- Caring?
- Outstanding
- Are people treated with kindness and dignity?
- Responsive?
- Outstanding
- Is care built around the person? Care plans, activities, complaints.
- Well-led?
- Outstanding
- Is the home run well? The manager, the culture, how problems get found and fixed.
What inspectors found, March 2022
Derwent Cottage was inspected but not rated; inspectors found good infection control and a clean, well-maintained home.
This was a targeted inspection on 24 February 2022. It focused on infection prevention and control during the COVID-19 pandemic, and on whether staffing pressures were affecting the service. The inspection was announced 24 hours in advance.
Inspectors found that staff followed current government guidance when entering and leaving the home and when receiving visitors. People and staff were tested regularly, and records showed staff vaccinations had been completed where required.
The home was clean, well maintained and well managed. Staff had infection control training and used protective equipment safely. People had risk assessments to support them to live safely during COVID-19.
The service was inspected but not rated. This means the report gives findings about infection control, but does not provide an overall quality rating.
Infection control
Inspectors found that the home had effective arrangements to prevent and manage infections. Staff understood how to use protective equipment.
“We were assured that the provider was using PPE effectively and safely.” from the report
Clean environment
The home was clean and maintained in a suitable condition.
“The home was well maintained, the environment was clean and well managed.” from the report
Testing and vaccination records
People and staff were tested regularly, and the home kept evidence of required staff vaccinations.
“Staff and people were tested regularly for COVID-19. Evidence of completion of the required vaccinations was maintained for staff.” from the report
Risk assessments
People had assessments to help them live safely during the COVID-19 period.
“People had risk assessments to support them to live safely under COVID-19.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are COVID-19-related staffing pressures affecting people using the service now?
- 02What are the current arrangements for visits to the home?
- 03How often are people using the service and staff tested for infections?
- 04How do staff keep infection prevention and control training up to date?
- 05How are people’s infection-related risk assessments reviewed and updated?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control and COVID-19-related staffing pressures; it did not provide a full service rating. This explanation was written from the published report of 17 March 2022 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.
What inspectors found, December 2019
Derwent Cottage is rated Outstanding; inspectors found exceptional personalised care, with safety rated Good.
Inspectors visited on three dates in September and October 2019. The first visit was unannounced. They spoke with staff, the manager, health professionals and representatives, observed care, and checked care plans, medicine records, staff files and management records.
The home supported four people with profound learning disabilities and/or autism. Inspectors found highly personalised care that helped people develop skills, make choices, use the community and improve their health and wellbeing.
Safety was rated Good. The other four areas were rated Outstanding. The overall Outstanding rating means the home was judged to provide exceptional care and achieve outcomes that were consistently better than expected compared with similar services.
The overall rating remained Outstanding from the previous inspection. Effective and caring also remained Outstanding. Responsive and well-led improved from Good to Outstanding.
Personalised support
Staff knew people's preferences, communication methods and goals very well. Support was adapted to help people gain skills and take more control of their lives.
“People using the service received planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that was appropriate and inclusive for them.” from the report
Health outcomes
Staff worked proactively with health professionals and challenged decisions when necessary. This helped people receive appropriate investigations and treatment.
“Staff had championed one person's rights to receive appropriate health screening to diagnose a condition.” from the report
Communication
The home used individual communication methods, including touch, scent and sensory prompts. This helped people express their wishes and remain involved.
“The service excelled in ways they supported people to communicate their wishes.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
Staff were attentive to people's dignity, privacy, emotional needs and preferred routines. They supported people to choose where they spent time and what they did.
“Staff treated people with the utmost respect at all times.” from the report
Leadership and teamwork
Inspectors found a strong culture of learning, openness and improvement. Staff worked closely together and shared learning across the provider's services.
“The leadership and team working within this service was exceptional.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How would you learn and use my relative's individual communication methods, preferences and routines?
- 02How do you review medicines, including as-needed medicines, and involve health professionals and families in those reviews?
- 03How would you support my relative when they become anxious or distressed, and when would any restrictive intervention be considered?
- 04What goals would you agree with my relative, and how would you show whether their independence and wellbeing were improving?
- 05How would you involve our family or representative in care planning, health decisions and end of life wishes?
This was a planned inspection covering all five CQC questions, following the previous Outstanding rating; the first inspection day was unannounced. This explanation was written from the published report of 17 December 2019 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 Derwent Cottage
3 rated inspections over 5 years: the service has held its Outstanding rating throughout.
- March 2022Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
- December 2019Outstandingstayed OutstandingSafe: GoodEffective: OutstandingCaring: OutstandingResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Outstanding
- March 2017Outstandingstayed OutstandingSafe: GoodEffective: OutstandingCaring: OutstandingResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- February 2015OutstandingSafe: GoodEffective: OutstandingCaring: OutstandingResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- July 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- October 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- September 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 20 December 2010.
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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28 live-in carers within about an hour of North Yorkshire
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 £1,010 to £1,290 a week. 27 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.
“Carla has been a god send with the implementation of bringing mum back home from respite care.”
“She was always 'just present enough': attentive, available, kind and engaging, but without ever over-stepping any boundary”
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.