CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Newlands
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Inspectors found suitable risk plans, staffing checks, infection control and safeguarding procedures, but identified gaps in medicine records.
- Effective?
- Good
- This area was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was carried forward.
- Caring?
- Good
- This area was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was carried forward.
- Responsive?
- Good
- This area was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was carried forward.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The home had clear management arrangements, regular quality checks and an open culture. People, relatives and staff said they could raise concerns with the manager.
What inspectors found, March 2023
Rated Good; inspectors found people were safe and the home was well-led, but medicine records needed further improvement.
This was an unannounced focused inspection on 12 and 17 January 2023. Inspectors spoke with people living in the home, family members and staff. They observed care and checked care records, medicine records, recruitment files and management records.
The home was rated Good for Safe and Well-led. Inspectors found safe staffing, suitable risk checks, safeguarding procedures and infection control arrangements. People and families said they felt safe and were happy with the care.
There were some gaps in medicine records and medicine errors were not always reviewed together to find patterns. The registered manager dealt with some issues during the inspection. The overall rating stayed Good because the other three areas were carried forward from the previous inspection.
People felt safe
People and families told inspectors they felt safe and were satisfied with the care. Staff were described as available and willing to listen.
“Newlands have got it right, you would think that it is their own family they are looking after.” from the report
Safe staffing and risk checks
Staff recruitment checks were completed, staffing levels were assessed against people's needs and risk plans were reviewed when people's needs changed.
“The provider assessed how much support people required, which helped them to determine how many staff were needed.” from the report
Active management oversight
The manager and provider carried out quality audits and followed action plans. Staff also completed checks to support improvements.
“The registered manager completed quality audits of care records and practice.” from the report
Medicine records
needs fixingInspectors found gaps in medicine records. The way some medicine administration records were coded was not consistent with current best practice.
“We found this was not consistent with current best practice and have made a recommendation below.” from the report
Learning from medicine errors
needs fixingIndividual medicine errors were reviewed, but the home was not consistently looking at all errors together for patterns and trends. Inspectors recommended changes to the audit process.
“There was no evidence of a review of all the errors together to look for themes or trends to reduce the amount of errors made.” from the report
- 01How are medication administration records checked now, and has the coding been changed to follow current best practice?
- 02How do you review medicine errors together to identify patterns and prevent them happening again?
- 03What actions were completed after the recommendations in this report?
- 04How will you keep us informed if our relative has a medicine error or needs to go to hospital?
- 05When will Safe, Effective, Caring and Responsive next be reviewed in a comprehensive inspection?
This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the ratings for Effective, Caring and Responsive were carried forward from the last inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 3 March 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, May 2021
Newlands had a targeted inspection that found good infection control, but the service was not rated.
Inspectors visited on 27 April 2021 as part of a targeted review of infection prevention and control during the coronavirus outbreak. The inspection was announced.
They were assured that the home was managing visitors, testing, admissions, isolation, social distancing, personal protective equipment and cleaning safely. The home had also supported people during a coronavirus outbreak.
The report describes visiting arrangements, video calls with families, activities and support for staff. However, this was not a full inspection, so the home was marked inspected but not rated rather than given a quality rating.
Infection control
Inspectors found strong arrangements for preventing and managing infections, including cleaning, protective equipment, testing and social distancing.
“We were assured that the provider was making sure infection outbreaks can be effectively prevented or managed.” from the report
Family contact
The home had introduced visiting arrangements and helped people stay in touch with relatives through video calls and telephone contact.
“The staff could support people to access Face time or Skype to contact families and friends.” from the report
Support for staff
Staff had support from the provider and registered manager, including access to confidential counselling.
“Staff told us they could access confidential counselling if they were experiencing difficulties” from the report
Safe admissions
New admissions took place after a negative coronavirus test, followed by isolation and additional precautions.
“New admission only happened once the person had a negative test for Covid-19.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01What visiting arrangements are in place now, including for end of life visits?
- 02How can residents currently keep in touch with family by video call or telephone?
- 03What testing and isolation arrangements apply to new admissions now?
- 04How do you prevent and manage infection outbreaks, and how often are these arrangements reviewed?
- 05How are people living with dementia supported to keep a safe distance when needed?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control during a coronavirus outbreak; it did not provide ratings for the other areas of care. This explanation was written from the published report of 21 May 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 Newlands
5 rated inspections over 8 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- March 2023Goodcurrent ratingSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- May 2021Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
- October 2017Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementWell-led: Good
- February 2017Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: InadequateEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- December 2015Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvement
- April 2015Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- July 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- February 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- March 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- February 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 15 February 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.
Weigh the report against the rest
Fees, photos and reviews from families
How to read CQC ratings and reports
What to check when you visit
9 live-in carers within about an hour of Cumberland
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.
8 can care for a couple. 9 years' experience on average.
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.