CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at South Chowdene
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, March 2021
South Chowdene was inspected but not rated; inspectors found good infection prevention and control arrangements.
This was a targeted, announced inspection on 16 February 2021. It looked only at infection prevention and control during the coronavirus pandemic.
Inspectors found the home was clean, with regular cleaning of surfaces. Furniture and the refurbished environment supported social distancing while keeping the home as homely as possible.
The home used appropriate personal protective equipment, tested staff and residents, and checked professional visitors. Inspectors were assured that arrangements were in place for visitors, admissions, testing, outbreaks and infection control policies.
The home was inspected but not rated. This means the visit did not give an overall quality rating or a separate rated result for the five questions.
Clean environment
The home was clean and surfaces were cleaned regularly. Its refurbished environment and furniture supported social distancing.
“The home was clean and there was regular cleaning of all surfaces.” from the report
Safe visits
Professional visitors completed health declarations, were tested for COVID-19 and had risk assessments before each visit.
“Professional visitors completed health declarations and were tested for COVID-19 at the service.” from the report
PPE and staff training
Staff had suitable PPE available throughout the home and received extra training on using it and preventing infection.
“Staff had received additional training during the pandemic about correct PPE usage and infection prevention and control.” from the report
Up-to-date guidance
The provider had a team to share government guidance and created processes for staff to follow.
“The provider had created a team responsible for updating each service with updates to government guidelines” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are you currently checking professional visitors, including health declarations, testing and risk assessments?
- 02What PPE is available throughout the home now, and how do you check that staff use it correctly?
- 03How often are surfaces and shared areas cleaned, and how is this recorded?
- 04What is your current process for testing people using the service and staff?
- 05How would you manage an infection outbreak, and when was this process last reviewed?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control during the coronavirus pandemic; it did not assess the other areas of care or provide a full quality rating. This explanation was written from the published report of 11 March 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.
What inspectors found, April 2020
Rated Outstanding overall; inspectors found kind, personalised care with especially strong activities, leadership and community links.
This was an unannounced inspection on 18 November 2019. Inspectors spoke with people living at the home, relatives, staff, a volunteer and a health professional. They also reviewed care plans, medicines records, staff files and management records.
The home was rated Good for Safe, Effective and Caring. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines practice, good training, clean premises and kind care. People were supported with food, healthcare, communication and daily choices.
The home was rated Outstanding for Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found care plans were personalised, activities were varied and inclusive, and staff supported people to build relationships and stay involved in the community. Leadership, feedback systems and quality checks were seen as especially strong.
The overall rating improved from Good at the previous inspection, published on 20 May 2017. Responsive and Well-led improved from Good to Outstanding, while the other three ratings stayed Good.
Personalised care
Inspectors found that people helped shape their care and that staff went beyond basic duties to support individual goals, wellbeing and independence.
“Care plans were detailed and personalised. Staff developed them with input from people, based on what was important for each person.” from the report
Activities and community links
The home offered a broad programme of activities and built strong links with local groups. These included intergenerational activities and a dementia café.
“The home had a dynamic and creative activities programme. Activities were wide ranging and tailored to people’s individual preferences.” from the report
End of life care
Inspectors found that people received compassionate and dignified support at the end of life. Staff also supported relatives after a bereavement.
“The registered manager and staff regularly went the extra mile to ensure people have especially compassionate and dignified care at the end of their life.” from the report
Strong leadership
The management culture was open and person-centred. Leaders involved people, relatives and staff in shaping the home and acted on feedback.
“People were at the heart of the care provided at the home, which meant they received personalised care.” from the report
Learning and improvement
The home investigated incidents, looked for lessons and used quality checks to drive improvement. It also shared good practice with other services.
“The provider had a structured approach to quality assurance which was focused around continuous improvement and learning lessons.” from the report
Check care plan reviews
minorOne person said they had been involved in their care plan but thought it was probably due a review. This was not presented as a wider failure, but families should check that reviews are current.
“I`m involved in my care plan, but that was a few months ago so is probably due a review soon.” from the report
- 01How often are care plans reviewed, and how will my relative and family be involved?
- 02Which activities would suit my relative's interests, culture and abilities?
- 03How would staff support my relative if their mobility, diet or health needs changed?
- 04How would you support my relative's communication needs and help them make daily choices?
- 05How do you use relatives' feedback and complaints to make changes?
This was a planned, unannounced inspection covering all five CQC questions and both the premises and care provided. This explanation was written from the published report of 30 April 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.
Every inspection of South Chowdene
5 rated inspections over 5 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Outstanding.
- March 2021Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
- April 2020Outstandingup from GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Outstanding
- November 2017Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- May 2017Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- July 2016Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- October 2015Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- June 2014Inspected but not rated
- February 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- March 2011
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.
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48 live-in carers within about an hour of Gateshead
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 £1,240 a week. 42 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
“Petty introduced herself to Mum every time she was caring for her and responded very quickly to Mum if she was distressed in the night.”
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.