CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Lady of the Vale Care Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors found personalised risk assessments, safe medicines systems, appropriate recruitment checks and enough staff to meet people's needs during the inspection. Infection prevention and visiting arrangements were also found to be suitable.
- Effective?
- Good
- People received suitable support with eating, drinking and healthcare, and staff worked within the Mental Capacity Act. Some new staff had not completed the care certificate within the recommended 12-week period, and some staff supervisions were behind.
- Caring?
- Good
- Staff were kind and respectful. People were supported with dignity, privacy, independence, choices and contact with their families.
- Responsive?
- Requires improvement
- The home did not always provide a wide range of activities, and care plans were not always personalised enough. End of life care and accessible information arrangements were found to be suitable.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The new manager was visible and committed to improvement. Audits, feedback, meetings and work with health and social care professionals supported oversight of the service.
What inspectors found, May 2022
Lady of the Vale Care Home is rated Good overall, but Responsive requires improvement because activities and personalisation were not always strong enough.
This was an unannounced inspection from 12 to 19 April 2022. One inspector and an Expert by Experience spoke with people, relatives and staff, observed care, and checked care, medicines, recruitment and management records.
The home was rated Good for Safe, Effective, Caring and Well-led. Inspectors found safe medicines practices, enough staff during the inspection, kind care, suitable support with food and health needs, and systems to monitor quality.
Responsive was rated Requires Improvement. People did not always have a wide range of activities, and care plans were not always personal enough. A new activities co-ordinator had been recruited, and the manager said care plans would be reviewed.
Kind and respectful care
Inspectors saw staff treating people with kindness, dignity and respect. People were supported to make choices and remain as independent as possible.
“Staff were caring and kind and supported people in a respectful and dignified way.” from the report
End of life support
People were supported to have a comfortable and dignified death. Staff discussed people's wishes and had training in end of life care.
“People were supported to have a comfortable, dignified and pain-free death.” from the report
Management oversight
The home had regular audits and used feedback, incidents and complaints to identify improvements. Inspectors found the new manager open and committed to making changes.
“Quality assurance systems were in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service.” from the report
Limited activities
needs fixingPeople did not always have access to a wide range of activities. A new activities co-ordinator had been recruited but had not started when inspectors visited.
“Although the service helped people to avoid isolation and maintain contact with friends and relatives, it did not always support people to take part in a range of activities.” from the report
Care plans not personal enough
needs fixingCare plans recorded care needs and preferences but did not always include enough about people's individual characteristics. The manager said plans would be made more person-centred.
“Care plans focused on the support people needed and were not always personalised capturing people's individual characteristics, to help staff get to know people better.” from the report
Some training and supervision delays
minorSome new staff had not completed the care certificate within the recommended period, and a small number of staff supervisions were behind. The manager said these issues were being addressed.
“However, we found new staff had not always completed the care certificate within the recommended 12-week period.” from the report
- 01Has the new activities co-ordinator started, and what regular activities are now available for people who are cared for in bed?
- 02How will you record my relative's history, interests, preferences and individual characteristics in their care plan?
- 03Have all new staff now completed the care certificate, and are staff supervisions up to date?
- 04How do you check that staffing levels remain sufficient when staff say levels have varied in the past?
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection covering all five key questions and infection prevention and control; Responsive was the only question rated below Good. This explanation was written from the published report of 17 May 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.
Every inspection of Lady of the Vale Care Home
4 rated inspections over 5 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- May 2022Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Good
- August 2019Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Good
- June 2018Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- December 2016GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- January 2021
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 1 January 2021.
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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At least 100 live-in carers within about an hour of Trafford
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 £980 to £1,260 a week. 91 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
“Primrose is a very kind and compassionate healthcare professional”
“She is an exemplary carer, she is knowledgable empathetic and very respectful in the home.”
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.