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CQC report explained · a residential care home

What the CQC found at Gainsborough Care Home

Goodpublished 30 July 2025, 14 months ago

Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.

The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, November 2021

Gainsborough Care Home was rated Good; inspectors found safe care and stronger leadership, with some medicines records still being reviewed.

This was an unannounced, focused inspection on 15 October 2021. Inspectors spoke with people, relatives, staff and a visiting professional. They reviewed care, medicines, recruitment, training and management records.

The home was rated Good for Safe and Well-led. Inspectors found that risks, staffing, safeguarding, medicines, infection control and accidents were managed safely. People and relatives said they felt safe, and staff were available to meet people's needs.

The report says leadership had improved and the home had become more stable. The overall rating changed from Requires Improvement to Good, following improvements identified at the previous inspection.

Caring, Effective and Responsive were not inspected in detail this time. Their earlier ratings were carried forward when calculating the overall rating.

What inspectors praised
  • Risks were managed

    Inspectors found sustained improvement in managing environmental risks, including the security of furniture. People's individual risk assessments were up to date.

    “Risks within the home environment were robustly managed.” from the report
  • Enough trained staff

    There were enough staff on shift to meet people's needs safely and in a person-centred way. Recruitment checks and medicines competency checks were completed.

    “There were sufficient staff on shift to meet people's need in a safe and person-centred way.” from the report
  • Medicines were given safely

    People received medicines on time and at the prescribed dose. Only trained and assessed staff administered them.

    “People received their medicines safely, as prescribed and by staff with the relevant training.” from the report
  • Improved leadership

    The report describes better stability, management oversight and quality monitoring since the previous inspection. Staff and relatives viewed the management as approachable and supportive.

    “The registered manager had brought stability to the home and greater managerial oversight.” from the report
  • Open atmosphere

    Inspectors found a friendly and person-centred culture. People, relatives and staff were encouraged to give feedback and suggest improvements.

    “The home had a friendly, person-centred and open culture.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • Some medicines records were being reviewed

    minor

    Records for medicines that people took only occasionally were being reviewed to make sure they reflected current needs and abilities. The report does not say this caused harm, but families may want to ask what was changed.

    “The home was reviewing people's records to ensure they reflected people's current needs and abilities.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01Which medicines records were being reviewed, and have all the changes now been completed?
  2. 02How do you check that staffing levels and staff skills continue to match people's changing needs?
  3. 03What improvements from the previous inspection are being checked through your audits now?
  4. 04How will you assess and respond if a person’s risks, mobility, nutrition or hydration needs change?
  5. 05What were the previous ratings for Caring, Effective and Responsive, and when will these areas next be fully reviewed?

This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led, including infection prevention and control; Caring, Effective and Responsive were not inspected in detail and their previous ratings carried over. This explanation was written from the published report of 11 November 2021 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.

An earlier report, explained

What inspectors found, November 2020

Overall rating remained Requires Improvement; this targeted visit found that earlier safety and governance problems had been addressed, but the home was not given a new full rating.

This was an unannounced targeted inspection on 16 November 2020. The inspector checked whether the home had acted on a warning notice about unsecured furniture and weak quality checks. Infection prevention and control was also reviewed.

Inspectors found risk assessments for furniture in all 34 residents' rooms. Furniture in occupied and empty rooms was secured. Monthly audits and weekly checks had been introduced to help keep this safe.

The home was also judged to have suitable infection control arrangements, including PPE, testing, social distancing and procedures for preventing or managing outbreaks. The provider was no longer in breach of Regulations 12 and 17.

The service was inspected but not rated at this visit. Its overall rating remains Requires Improvement because this inspection did not assess the whole service or all five areas of care.

What inspectors praised
  • Furniture safety

    Furniture had been secured in all occupied and unoccupied rooms. Risk assessments covered every resident's room.

    “The provider now had risk assessments in place to cover the security of furniture in all 34 residents' rooms.” from the report
  • Regular safety checks

    The home added furniture security to its monthly health and safety audit. Weekly checks were also carried out.

    “The provider's maintenance person conducted weekly checks on all furniture in people's rooms to ensure safety was sustained.” from the report
  • Infection control

    Inspectors were assured about the arrangements for PPE, testing, social distancing, admissions and managing infection outbreaks.

    “We were assured that the provider was making sure infection outbreaks can be effectively prevented or managed.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • Overall rating still Requires Improvement

    needs fixing

    The previous overall rating was not changed because this visit only checked specific concerns. Inspectors did not reassess the whole service.

    “The overall rating for the service has not changed following this targeted inspection and remains requires improvement.” from the report
  • Many areas were not reassessed

    minor

    The inspection did not assess all five areas of care. The next comprehensive inspection is needed to judge the service more fully.

    “We will assess all of the key question at the next comprehensive inspection of the service.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01What improvements have been made since the overall rating remained Requires Improvement?
  2. 02How often are furniture checks now completed, and what happens if a problem is found?
  3. 03How are new residents' room risk assessments completed and updated when their needs change?
  4. 04What were the results of the home's recent infection control audits and Covid-19 testing arrangements?
  5. 05When was, or will be, the next comprehensive inspection covering all five areas of care?

This was a targeted inspection of specific parts of Safe and Well-led, with infection control also checked; the other areas were not assessed and the previous overall rating remained Requires Improvement. This explanation was written from the published report of 27 November 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.

The story over the years

Every inspection of Gainsborough Care Home

6 rated inspections over 5 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.

  1. November 2021Goodcurrent rating
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read what inspectors found at Gainsborough Care Home →

  2. November 2020Inspected but not rated
    Safe: Inspected but not ratedWell-led: Inspected but not rated

    Read what inspectors found at Gainsborough Care Home →

  3. October 2020Requires improvementstayed Requires improvement
    Safe: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  4. July 2019Requires improvementstayed Requires improvement
    Safe: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  5. January 2019Requires improvementdown from Good
    Safe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  6. August 2017Goodup from Requires improvement
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  7. May 2016Requires improvement
    Safe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  8. May 2014

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  9. March 2014

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  10. October 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  11. April 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  12. November 2012

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 20 November 2012.

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.

Next steps

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