CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Metchley Manor
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors found people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Risks were assessed, medicines were managed safely, infection controls were effective and there were enough staff observed to respond safely.
- Effective?
- Good
- People's needs and choices were assessed and care plans were updated. Staff were trained, people received suitable food and healthcare support, and the home followed the Mental Capacity Act.
- Caring?
- Good
- People were treated with kindness, dignity and respect. They were involved in their care and supported to make choices and remain as independent as possible.
- Responsive?
- Outstanding
- The home provided highly personalised support and meaningful activities based on people's past interests, routines, beliefs and abilities. Inspectors found the service went above and beyond to improve people's quality of life.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Inspectors found clear leadership, an open and inclusive culture, and effective quality checks. Incidents, feedback and audits were used to support learning and improvement.
What inspectors found, October 2023
Rated Good; inspectors found exceptionally responsive, kind care, with all five areas rated Good or Outstanding.
The inspection was unannounced and took place on 21 June 2023. Inspectors visited the home, spoke with people, relatives, managers and staff, observed care, and reviewed care records, medicine records, recruitment files, policies and quality checks.
The home was rated Good overall. Safe, Effective, Caring and Well-led were all rated Good. Responsive was rated Outstanding, improved from Good at the previous inspection.
Inspectors found people were listened to and treated with kindness. Staff understood people's needs and supported independence, enjoyable activities, community involvement, good food and access to healthcare. The home was clean and well maintained, with enough staff observed to meet people's needs safely.
The report says the home had strong leadership and effective checks on quality. It also says minor shortfalls found during the inspection were acknowledged and promptly dealt with. There were no breaches or enforcement actions reported.
Personalised daily life
The home supported people to continue activities that mattered to them, including cooking, gardening, laundry, knitting and other household tasks. This helped people maintain identity, purpose and independence.
“Nothing was too much trouble for staff to ensure people enjoyed their days.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
People and relatives described staff as kind, thoughtful and compassionate. Inspectors saw staff supporting privacy, dignity, choice and independence.
“They [staff] are all absolutely caring. They [staff] have put together a picture book for [person] which is lovely” from the report
Food and hydration
People had varied food and drink choices, including support for individual diets. Food and drink were available throughout the day, with hydration stations in all three suites.
“We saw people had an excellent choice of food and drink, received the quantities they wished for and could request food and drink at any time.” from the report
Communication and inclusion
The home supported different communication needs with larger print and picture cards. It also celebrated cultural, religious and other differences.
“The service celebrated people's differences and the culture was wholly inclusive and celebrated occasions such as religious and cultural festivals” from the report
Strong quality oversight
The manager and staff had clear responsibilities. Audits and action plans were reviewed, and the report says improvements could be shown as a result of monitoring.
“The systems in place demonstrated a strong framework of accountability and were able to show improvements had taken place because of regular monitoring and auditing.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01Some staff said they felt staffing numbers needed to increase. How do you check staffing levels at busy times, evenings and weekends?
- 02How do you decide whether a person can self-medicate, and how do you review this safely?
- 03How will you involve my relative and our family in writing and reviewing their personalised care plan?
- 04How would you support my relative to continue their own interests, routines and household activities?
- 05How would you record and follow my relative's cultural, religious and end of life wishes?
This was an unannounced inspection covering all five key questions, including infection prevention and control; inspectors visited the home, spoke with people and relatives, observed care and reviewed records and quality checks. This explanation was written from the published report of 24 October 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.
Every inspection of Metchley Manor
3 rated inspections over 5 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- October 2023Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Good
- June 2018GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- December 2021
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 10 December 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 Birmingham
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 £1,230 a week. 79 can care for a couple. 9 years' experience on average.
“God doesn't make people like her anymore!”
“I have never met a person who is so kind and thinks about others before himself to such an extent as Chris Malagala.”
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.