Skip to content
The Care Home DirectoryEvery care home in England

CQC report explained · a residential care home

What the CQC found at Safeharbour (260 Hagley Road)

Goodpublished 21 February 2020, 6 years ago

Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.

The five questions inspectors ask
Safe?
Good
Inspectors found clear risk assessments, enough staff, recruitment checks and trained staff for medicines and safeguarding. The home also had infection control arrangements and systems to learn from accidents and incidents.
Effective?
Good
People's needs and preferences were assessed, and staff had suitable training and support. Inspectors found that nutrition, healthcare, communication with professionals and legal requirements around restrictions were managed appropriately.
Caring?
Good
Staff were found to be kind and compassionate. People were supported to make choices and to maintain their privacy, dignity and independence.
Responsive?
Good
Care plans reflected people's needs, interests and preferences. Relatives were involved in reviews, different communication methods were used, and a complaints process was available.
Well-led?
Good
Inspectors found an open, inclusive culture and regular checks and audits. This rating improved from Requires Improvement because the provider had shown that its quality systems were being used consistently.
The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, February 2020

Safeharbour (260 Hagley Road) was rated Good; inspectors found safe, caring and well-organised support, with clear improvement since the previous inspection.

This was a planned comprehensive inspection on 23 and 24 January 2020. One inspector reviewed care and medicine records, staff recruitment and training records, and the systems used to manage the home. They also spoke with relatives, staff and the registered manager.

The home supported four people with learning disabilities. Inspectors rated all five areas Good: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. They found suitable staffing and recruitment checks, safe medicines support, person-centred care, support with health needs, and systems for complaints and quality checks.

The home had previously been rated Requires Improvement. The overall rating is now Good. The well-led rating improved from Requires Improvement to Good because the provider had shown that its monitoring and quality systems were working consistently.

What inspectors praised
  • Choice and independence

    Support was organised around people's choices, control and independence. Inspectors found that people were encouraged to gain skills and live as fully as possible.

    “People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.” from the report
  • Kind staff

    Inspectors found staff to be caring and compassionate. Relatives also described staff positively.

    “Staff were kind, caring and compassionate toward people.” from the report
  • Safe support

    The home had arrangements for safeguarding, risk management, staffing, medicines and infection control. Relatives reported no concerns about safety or medicines.

    “People received support that was safe.” from the report
  • Improved leadership

    The provider had strengthened its oversight since the previous inspection. Regular audits, spot checks and staff involvement were being used to monitor care.

    “At this inspection we found the provider had sustained the consistency.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about

Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.

Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01How will you find out and record my relative's views if they cannot verbally communicate?
  2. 02How will you support my relative to develop skills and remain as independent as possible?
  3. 03Which communication methods, such as pictures or gestures, work best for my relative?
  4. 04How often will you involve our family in care plan reviews and decisions about support?
  5. 05What activities and community opportunities would be available to match my relative's interests?

This was a comprehensive inspection covering all five CQC questions; inspectors could not speak directly with people because they were unable to verbally communicate their views. This explanation was written from the published report of 21 February 2020 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.

An earlier report, explained

What inspectors found, July 2019

Rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found good safe, effective, caring and responsive support, but the home needed to embed improvements in its management.

This was an unannounced inspection on 14 and 15 November 2018. One inspector reviewed care and medicines records, audits, staff files, training, complaints, incidents and safeguarding information. They spoke with people living at the home, relatives, staff, the manager and the provider.

The home was rated Good for Safe, Effective, Caring and Responsive. Inspectors found that people were safer, received their medicines as prescribed, had access to healthcare and were routinely offered choices. Staff were described as kind and respectful, and people were supported to take part in activities they enjoyed.

The home was rated Requires Improvement for Well-led, so the overall rating was Requires Improvement. A new manager was in post but was not yet registered with the CQC. Inspectors found better systems and oversight, but said the improvements still needed to be embedded and shown to last.

The service had previously been rated Inadequate and had been in Special Measures. It was no longer Inadequate and had left Special Measures after this inspection. The previous concerns about consent, healthcare, protection from harm and oversight had improved.

What inspectors praised
  • Safer care

    Staff understood people's risks and knew how to respond to safeguarding concerns. Recruitment checks and medicines processes were also in place.

    “Staff were aware of their responsibilities to protect people from harm and knew what action to take if someone had suffered an injury or if they had concerns they were at risk of abuse.” from the report
  • Choice and control

    People were routinely involved in decisions about their daily lives. Inspectors found clear improvement from the previous inspection.

    “People were routinely supported to make decisions throughout their day and offered choices.” from the report
  • Kind relationships

    Inspectors observed warm interactions between staff and people. Relatives also spoke positively about the caring approach.

    “We observed a number of caring interactions between all staff and people living at the service.” from the report
  • Meaningful activities

    People were offered activities based on their interests and preferences, both inside and outside the home. Staff were continuing to look for new activities.

    “There was no doubt that people were offered a choice of activities that were of interest to them and we saw evidence of this.” from the report
  • Improved teamwork

    Staff had introduced audits, action plans and meetings to monitor the service. Staff and relatives reported that communication and morale had improved.

    “Staff were actively involved in the development of the service.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • Manager registration

    needs fixing

    A manager was in post but had not yet registered with the CQC. The report says they were applying to become the registered manager.

    “A manager was in post but they were not currently registered with the Commission.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01Has the manager now become registered with the CQC, and who is responsible for the home if not?
  2. 02How do you check that the new care, medicines and safeguarding systems continue to work over time?
  3. 03What activities are currently available that match my relative's interests and communication needs?
  4. 04How are changes in a person's health or behaviour recorded and shared with all staff?
  5. 05How can relatives raise concerns, and how quickly will they receive a response?

This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection covering all five key questions, the care provided and the accommodation, with records reviewed for all four people living at the home. This explanation was written from the published report of 24 July 2019 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.

The story over the years

Every inspection of Safeharbour (260 Hagley Road)

5 rated inspections over 4 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.

  1. February 2020Goodcurrent ratingup from Requires improvement
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read what inspectors found at Safeharbour (260 Hagley Road) →

  2. July 2019Requires improvementup from Inadequate
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement

    Read what inspectors found at Safeharbour (260 Hagley Road) →

  3. July 2019Inadequatedown from Good
    Safe: InadequateEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Inadequate

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  4. December 2016Goodup from Requires improvement
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  5. January 2016Requires improvement
    Safe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  6. January 2014

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  7. March 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  8. February 2012

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  9. January 2011

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 20 January 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.

Next steps

Weigh the report against the rest

Care at home

At least 100 live-in carers within about an hour of Dudley

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 £1,230 a week. 88 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.

“I have never met a person who is so kind and thinks about others before himself to such an extent as Chris Malagala.”
Brian G., about Chris M.
“Knowing Mum was in Corina's care made an enormous difference to us and we knew she was in safe hands.”
Katherine J., about Sibonisiwe N.
See live-in carers near DudleyProfiles, rates and reviews are free to look at.

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.