CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Darlington Road
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Inspectors found safe medicines management, suitable staffing, effective infection control and appropriate safety checks.
- Effective?
- Good
- This question was not inspected during this visit. Its previous rating was carried forward.
- Caring?
- Good
- This question was not inspected during this visit. Its previous rating was carried forward.
- Responsive?
- Outstanding
- This question was not inspected during this visit. Its previous rating was carried forward.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Inspectors found effective governance, visible and approachable management, good communication and a positive, person-centred culture.
What inspectors found, February 2023
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, well-managed care and improvements since the previous inspection.
This was an unannounced focused inspection on 10 and 14 February 2023. An inspector and a pharmacist specialist spoke with people, relatives and staff, and checked care records, medicines records and other documents.
The home was rated Good for Safe and Well-led. Inspectors found medicines were administered safely, infection control had improved, staffing levels were suitable and safety checks were being completed.
The home had previously been rated Requires Improvement, with breaches linked to medicines, infection control and governance. Inspectors found enough improvement had been made and the home was no longer in breach of those regulations.
This inspection only looked at Safe and Well-led. The ratings for Caring, Effective and Responsive were carried over from the previous inspection.
Medicines were managed safely
Inspectors found that medicines were administered safely, people's preferences were recorded and followed, and staff had regular training and competency checks.
“Medicines were administered safely. People's preferences were clearly recorded and followed.” from the report
Suitable staffing
There were enough staff with the right skills, including support for one-to-one activities and visits.
“The numbers and skills of staff matched the needs of people using the service.” from the report
Positive culture
Management and staff were described as valuing people's individuality, rights and choices. Staff turnover was low, helping people receive consistent support.
“People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff.” from the report
Improved oversight
The home had effective checks and audits, and took action when issues were found. Inspectors said it was no longer in breach of the regulations identified at the previous inspection.
“Governance processes were effective and helped to hold staff to account, keep people safe, protect people's rights and provide good quality care and support.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are medicines audits and staff competency checks kept up to date?
- 02How do you make sure infection control and cleaning standards continue to be followed?
- 03When was the most recent fire drill, and how would the home support my relative in an emergency?
- 04What are the current ratings and any outstanding improvements for Caring, Effective and Responsive?
- 05How do you use feedback from people and relatives to change the service?
This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the ratings for Effective, Caring and Responsive were carried forward from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 24 February 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, February 2022
Real Life Options - Darlington Road is rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind, person-centred care, but medicines, infection control and oversight were not consistently safe.
This was a focused inspection that began by checking infection prevention and control during the COVID-19 pandemic. After concerns were found on the first day, the inspection was widened to look at Safe and Well-led. Inspectors visited on 18 January, 27 January and 09 February 2022.
Inspectors found problems with medicines, including the use of as-required medicines, an allergy record that had not been followed and incomplete controlled-drug records. They also found poor flooring, overflowing clinical waste bins and cleaning and PPE practices that needed improvement. Some changes were made quickly during the inspection.
The home was caring and person-centred. Staff knew people well, supported their communication and helped them take part in everyday activities and interests. However, checks by managers had not identified the safety and record-keeping problems found by inspectors.
The overall rating changed from Good at the previous inspection to Requires Improvement. Safe and Well-led were both rated Requires Improvement. The other key questions were not inspected, so their previous ratings were used when calculating the overall rating.
Kind and respectful care
Inspectors found that staff were kind, compassionate and respectful. Staff understood people's individual needs and protected their privacy and dignity.
“People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people's privacy and dignity.” from the report
Meaningful daily life
People were supported to take part in cooking, cleaning, activities and interests suited to them. Staff focused on what people could do.
“Staff focused on people's strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life.” from the report
Enough staff
The home had enough staff to provide one-to-one support for activities and visits. Staff records included clear information about how to support each person.
“The service had enough staff, including for one-to-one support for people to take part in activities and visits how and when they wanted.” from the report
Positive culture
Inspectors found that people's wishes, needs and rights were central to the way the home worked. People and those important to them were involved in care planning.
“Staff placed people's wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did.” from the report
Medicines were not always safe
seriousStaff did not always follow guidance before giving as-required medicines, and inspectors found evidence that medicines had been overused. An allergy record was not followed and controlled-drug records were not always accurate.
“Staff did not always follow guidance for giving PRN (as required) medicines.” from the report
Infection control and environment
seriousInspectors found damaged flooring, overflowing clinical waste bins and cleaning practices that were not reliable. Some improvements were made quickly, but further work was still planned.
“The provider did not always ensure people received care and support in a safe, clean and well-maintained environment.” from the report
Management checks missed problems
seriousAudits had not identified the medicines, infection control or fire drill concerns. Some daily notes did not match medicine records or mood charts, making it unclear why some medicines had been given.
“Governance processes were not always effective.” from the report
Fire drill participation
needs fixingNot all staff had taken part in a fire drill during the previous 12 months. CQC recommended that the provider seek advice about completing drills in line with current best practice.
“Not all staff had taken part in a fire drill in the last 12 months.” from the report
- 01What has changed in the way as-required medicines are given, and how do you check that other ways of supporting distress are tried first?
- 02How do you now check controlled-drug records, medicine allergies and the way medicines are given with food?
- 03Have the damaged floors, clinical waste arrangements and cleaning of sensory equipment been fully corrected?
- 04How do your current audits identify problems with medicines, infection control, records and fire safety?
- 05Have all staff completed a fire drill, and how often will you check this?
This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led after infection control concerns were found; Effective, Caring and Responsive were not inspected and their previous ratings were carried forward. This explanation was written from the published report of 11 February 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 Darlington Road
4 rated inspections over 7 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- February 2023Goodcurrent ratingup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Good
- February 2022Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- February 2020Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2016Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- December 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- February 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- October 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 28 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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