CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Eden House
Rated Outstanding: inspectors found the home performing exceptionally well.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors found effective systems for safeguarding, risk management, staffing, medicines, infection control and learning from incidents. They found enough staff and confirmed that medicines were administered and recorded safely.
- Effective?
- Good
- Does the care work? Training, consent, food and drink, working with GPs and nurses.
- Caring?
- Outstanding
- Staff provided highly personalised care and treated people with compassion, dignity and respect. People and relatives were involved in decisions, and staff went beyond basic care to meet individual wishes.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Is care built around the person? Care plans, activities, complaints.
- Well-led?
- Outstanding
- Inspectors found exceptional leadership, a strong person-centred culture and robust checks on the quality of care. The home used feedback, partnerships and new technology to improve people's wellbeing and safety.
What inspectors found, December 2023
Eden House was rated Outstanding overall, with especially caring and well-led support and safe care rated Good.
Inspectors visited on 31 May and 9 June 2023 without giving notice. They spoke with people living at the home, a relative, staff and health and social care professionals. They also reviewed records about safety and management.
The home was rated Outstanding overall. Caring and well-led were rated Outstanding. Safe was rated Good. Inspectors found compassionate, personalised care, strong leadership, enough staff, safe medicines practice and effective systems for managing risks and incidents.
The overall rating improved from Good at the previous inspection in 2017. Caring stayed Outstanding, safe stayed Good, and well-led improved from Good to Outstanding. The report does not give separate ratings for Effective or Responsive.
Compassionate personalised care
Staff knew people well and adapted care to their individual needs, wishes and goals. Inspectors found strong relationships with people, relatives and professionals.
“Staff treated people extremely well and were committed to providing excellent, personalised care.” from the report
People's choices respected
People and relatives were involved in care decisions. Staff supported individual food choices, religious needs, independence and contact with family.
“Staff went the extra mile to ensure they fulfilled people's choices and wishes, no matter how small.” from the report
Improvement through partnership
The home worked with professionals and other organisations to improve falls prevention, health referrals and people's wellbeing.
“They worked innovatively and collaboratively to directly improve people's quality of life.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are the recently increased staffing levels matched to my relative's current needs?
- 02How will you involve me and my relative in creating and reviewing their care plan?
- 03How are medicines checked to make sure they continue to be given on time and recorded correctly?
- 04How do you assess and reduce my relative's risks, including falls or other risks linked to their health?
- 05How would the home work with health professionals if my relative needed a quicker medical referral?
This inspection covered Safe, Caring and Well-led; the report does not give separate ratings for Effective or Responsive, and the previous ratings for Caring and Safe carried forward while Well-led improved from Good to Outstanding. This explanation was written from the published report of 15 December 2023 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, October 2017
Eden House was rated Good overall; inspectors found exceptionally caring staff, with minor gaps in care records and quality systems.
Inspectors visited on 10 and 15 August 2017. The first visit was unannounced. They spoke with people, relatives, staff and health professionals. They also looked around the home and checked care, recruitment, training and management records.
The home was rated Good for safe, effective, responsive and well-led care. Caring was rated Outstanding. Inspectors found kind and respectful staff, good support with food and health, suitable activities and strong support for people's family relationships.
There were minor shortfalls. Some care records were still being changed after the provider took over. A dementia champion and an infection control champion were not yet in place, and the new quality system was still being embedded. These issues were considered when setting the ratings.
Kind and respectful care
Inspectors saw staff taking time to listen, communicate in ways suited to each person and promote independence. People were supported to maintain family and community links.
“Staff were extremely caring in their approach ensuring people were at the forefront of their work.” from the report
End of life support
The home provided compassionate end of life care. Care plans recorded people's wishes, and relatives were supported as well as the person receiving care.
“We found the staff at Eden House provided an excellent standard of end of life care.” from the report
Food and nutrition
People's dietary needs were assessed and reviewed. Staff offered choices and alternatives, including specially prepared meals that looked like ordinary food.
“People's nutritional needs were rigorously assessed and we observed people enjoying a varied diet, with choices offered and alternatives available.” from the report
Care records were still being updated
needs fixingSome care plans were being rewritten after the change of provider. One person still had a short-term seven-day plan after more than three weeks, and another record had an inconsistent risk score.
“At this inspection we found minor shortfalls with records relating to people's care.” from the report
Champion roles were not yet in place
needs fixingThere was no dementia champion or identified infection control champion at the time of the inspection. The manager said staff would be nominated for these roles.
“The home did not have a dementia champion in place.” from the report
Quality system still settling
minorThe new quality assurance system had only recently been introduced and was not fully embedded. The manager also did not yet have access to the electronic incident system and was using paper records instead.
“was in the process of being embedded in the service.” from the report
No pictorial menus
minorMenus were available, but inspectors found no pictorial menus for people with communication needs.
“The provider did not have pictorial menus available for people with communication needs.” from the report
- 01Have all residents' care plans and risk assessments now been fully rewritten and checked for accuracy?
- 02Who is currently the dementia champion and infection control champion, and what improvements have these roles brought?
- 03Is the Cornerstone quality assurance system now fully embedded, and how are incidents recorded and reviewed?
- 04How quickly are call pendants answered when several staff are busy or someone is absent?
- 05What menu choices and communication support are available for someone who cannot use a written menu?
This was a comprehensive inspection covering all five CQC questions, with records, the home, people's experiences and staff practice examined. This explanation was written from the published report of 17 October 2017 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 Eden House
3 rated inspections over 8 years: the service has held its Outstanding rating throughout.
- December 2023Outstandingcurrent ratingup from GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: OutstandingResponsive: GoodWell-led: Outstanding
- October 2017Gooddown from OutstandingSafe: GoodCaring: OutstandingWell-led: Good
- August 2015OutstandingSafe: GoodEffective: OutstandingCaring: OutstandingResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Outstanding
- October 2013
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 20 October 2013.
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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47 live-in carers within about an hour of County Durham
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 £960 to £1,210 a week. 42 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
“Petty introduced herself to Mum every time she was caring for her and responded very quickly to Mum if she was distressed in the night.”
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.