CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Garden Hill Care Centre
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines processes, managed risks and appropriate infection control.
- Effective?
- Good
- This key question was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was used in calculating the overall rating.
- Caring?
- Good
- People were treated with kindness, dignity and respect. Staff knew people's choices and supported people to be involved in decisions and remain as independent as possible.
- Responsive?
- Good
- This key question was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was used in calculating the overall rating.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The home had a positive culture, regular quality checks and systems for gathering feedback. A new manager had recently been appointed and was being supported by regional management and other managers.
What inspectors found, September 2021
Garden Hill Care Centre was rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind care and better management, but this was a focused inspection.
Inspectors visited on 23, 26 and 29 July 2021. They spoke with people, relatives and staff, observed care, checked the building and reviewed care, medicines and management records.
The home was rated Good for Safe, Caring and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines management, suitable infection control, respectful care and regular checks on service quality.
This inspection followed concerns about care, staffing and management. The overall rating improved from Requires Improvement to Good. Effective and Responsive were not inspected, so their previous ratings were used in the overall rating.
Enough staff
Inspectors found staffing levels were sufficient to meet people's needs safely, and staffing was set according to those needs.
“There were enough staff to meet people's needs safely.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
People were listened to and treated with dignity. Staff knew people's preferences and encouraged independence where it was safe.
“Staff treated people in a dignified way and respected their wishes and choices.” from the report
Safe medicines
Medicines were administered and managed safely. Staff training and competency checks were up to date.
“Staff training was up to date and their competencies to administer medicines were assessed.” from the report
Clean and careful infection control
The home was kept clean and staff followed infection control measures, including testing and protective equipment arrangements linked to COVID-19.
“People were protected from the risk of infection and the home was kept clean.” from the report
Quality monitoring
The provider used audits, meetings, surveys and reviews to monitor quality and gather views from people, relatives and staff.
“The provider had an effective quality assurance process in place which included regular audits.” from the report
Management transition
minorThe previous registered manager had left, while the new manager had only recently started and was still going through registration. Ask how this change has been completed and supported.
“They had commenced the registration process at the time of the inspection.” from the report
- 01Has the new manager completed the registration process since the inspection?
- 02How are staffing levels checked against each person's changing needs?
- 03How are medicines audits and staff competency checks kept up to date?
- 04How does the home act on feedback from people and relatives?
- 05What improvements had been identified by the provider, and what action has been completed?
This was a focused inspection of Safe, Caring and Well-led only; Effective and Responsive were not inspected and their previous ratings were carried forward. This explanation was written from the published report of 9 September 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.
What inspectors found, April 2021
Garden Hill Care Centre was inspected but not rated; inspectors found strong infection control measures, while the previous safe rating of requires improvement was not reassessed.
This was an announced, targeted inspection on 5 March 2021. It looked at infection prevention and control because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Inspectors found checks for visitors, including temperature checks, lateral flow tests, health declarations and hand sanitising. They also found suitable protective equipment, regular cleaning, staff training and testing for people and staff.
The inspection did not give a new rating. The safe question was inspected but not rated, and only the parts linked to specific infection control concerns were examined.
Visitor infection checks
Visitors had several checks before entering, including testing, health declarations and hand sanitising.
“Every visitor had to have a lateral flow test, complete a health declaration and use hand sanitiser upon entering the home.” from the report
Clean environment
Inspectors found the environment very clean and hygienic, with extra cleaning of frequently touched surfaces.
“The environment was very clean and hygienic. Additional cleaning was taking place around the home, including of frequently touched surfaces.” from the report
Protective equipment and training
There were sufficient supplies of protective equipment. Staff had infection control training, and designated staff carried out checks on how it was used.
“There were dedicated Infection control champions in the home who carried out spot checks on staff to ensure they were competent in IPC practices.” from the report
Keeping families connected
People were supported to keep contact with relatives through video and telephone calls, with a visiting pod available by appointment.
“People were supported to keep in touch with their family members via video or telephone calls.” from the report
Previous safe rating remains unresolved in this report
needs fixingAt the last inspection, the safe question was rated requires improvement. This inspection did not review that rating, so the report does not show whether the wider concerns were resolved.
“At our last inspection we rated this key question requires improvement.” from the report
- 01What has changed since the previous inspection, when the safe question was rated requires improvement?
- 02How are visitor temperature checks, lateral flow tests, health declarations and hand sanitising carried out now?
- 03How often are staff checked on their infection prevention and protective equipment practice?
- 04How are protective equipment supplies monitored and kept at suitable levels?
- 05How can relatives use the visiting pod or arrange video and telephone contact?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control within the safe question; the wider safe rating and the other four questions were not reviewed. This explanation was written from the published report of 16 April 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.
Every inspection of Garden Hill Care Centre
5 rated inspections over 7 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- September 2021Goodcurrent ratingSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- April 2021Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
- September 2019Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementCaring: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- February 2019Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- January 2017Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Outstanding
- January 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Outstanding
- September 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- July 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- April 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- April 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- October 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 14 October 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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39 live-in carers within about an hour of South Tyneside
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 £950 to £1,140 a week. 34 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.