CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Springwood
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors found that people were protected from abuse, risks were well managed, staffing was sufficient and recruitment checks were completed. Medicines and infection control were also managed safely.
- Effective?
- Good
- People's needs and choices were assessed before they moved in. Staff were trained and supported, and people received help with food, drink, healthcare and decisions about their care.
- Caring?
- Good
- Staff treated people with kindness, warmth, dignity and respect. People were involved in their care and encouraged to make choices and develop independence.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Care plans were detailed and personalised. Staff understood how people communicated and supported their interests, relationships, goals and access to the local community.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Inspectors found an open, positive and calm culture. The manager used audits, meetings and feedback to monitor and improve the service.
What inspectors found, December 2021
Springwood rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care with strong support for choice and independence.
Inspectors visited on 11 October 2021. They spoke with people living in the home, staff, a relative and a health professional. They observed care and checked care records, medicines records, staff recruitment and training records, and the home's quality checks.
The five people living in the home were described as happy and content. Inspectors found that staff knew people well, treated them with dignity and supported their communication, health, activities and relationships. Risks, medicines, staffing and infection control were managed safely.
The home was rated Good overall and Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. The previous inspection was also rated Good, published on 30 August 2019.
Person-centred support
Care was built around each person's needs, choices and goals. Inspectors found that people were at the centre of the support they received.
“They received person-centred care where they were at the heart and focus of the support provided to achieve positive outcomes.” from the report
Kind and respectful staff
People said they were happy in the home. Staff knew people well and supported them with kindness, dignity and warmth.
“People were very happy and content living in the home and described staff as "wonderful" and "perfect.” from the report
Communication and choice
Communication needs were recorded and understood by staff. People were involved in decisions and information was available in accessible formats.
“Information was available for people in accessible formats. For example, easy read documents and pictures had been produced for people who could not understand written words.” from the report
Community and independence
People were supported to pursue hobbies, maintain relationships and build daily living skills. One person was preparing to move to a more independent setting.
“People were in control of their lives and what they did on a day to day basis.” from the report
Safe systems
The home had systems for managing risks, medicines, staffing, accidents and infection control. Inspectors found that lessons from incidents were recorded and shared.
“Incidents, accidents and safeguarding concerns were recorded and analysed.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How will you assess whether the home can meet my relative's needs before they move in?
- 02How will you support my relative's communication and make sure they are involved in decisions about their care?
- 03What daily living skills, activities and community opportunities would my relative be supported to develop?
- 04How do you manage medicines and check staff are competent to administer them?
- 05How would you support my relative if their health needs changed or they needed end of life care?
This inspection assessed all five CQC key questions and looked at both the premises and the care provided; it was also carried out as part of a random check of services previously rated Good or Outstanding. This explanation was written from the published report of 11 December 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, August 2019
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, caring and personalised support, with some records and staff training still needing improvement.
This was a planned inspection after the previous Requires Improvement rating. One inspector visited on 7 and 14 August 2019, spoke with people, a relative, staff and a professional, and checked care, staff and management records.
The home supported six adults with a learning disability and/or autism. Inspectors found people were safe, medicines were generally managed safely, staffing levels met people's needs, and incidents were reviewed so lessons could be learned.
People were treated with kindness and respect. They were involved in their care, meals and activities, and staff supported choice, independence, communication and contact with relatives.
All five areas were rated Good. The home had improved from Requires Improvement at the previous inspection and was no longer in breach of the two regulations previously identified.
Personalised support
Care records reflected people's choices and wishes. Staff knew people well and adapted routines to support their quality of life.
“Staff have adapted [person's] routine to meet their needs and have continually strived to improve [person's] quality of life.” from the report
Kind relationships
Inspectors saw staff treating people with kindness and respect. People appeared happy and were involved in decisions about their care.
“Positive relationships were observed between people and staff. Staff showed concern for people.” from the report
Choice and independence
People were supported to make choices, develop skills and be as independent as possible. They had access to activities and opportunities in the community.
“People were supported to be as independent as they could be.” from the report
Improvement since last inspection
The home improved from Requires Improvement to Good overall. The previous breaches relating to medicines, infection control and governance were no longer in place at this inspection.
“At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.” from the report
Medicine records
needs fixingMedicines were given when needed, but some medicine records were not yet fully improved. The report says action had started during the inspection.
“Some medicine records needed further improvement. This had started to be addressed during inspection.” from the report
Staff training
minorNew staff still needed to complete the care certificate. Staff also needed training in end of life care, and the manager had begun addressing this.
“New staff needed to undertake the care certificate (standards for working in social care) and the provider was taking action to address this.” from the report
Heavy furniture
needs fixingLarge heavy furniture was not secured to walls when inspectors checked. The manager took immediate action to address this.
“Large heavy furniture was not secured to walls. The registered manager took immediate action to address this.” from the report
- 01How are medicine records checked now, and what action was taken after the inspection?
- 02Have all new staff completed the care certificate?
- 03Have staff completed end of life care training?
- 04How do you check that heavy furniture and other environmental risks remain safe?
- 05What has changed at the home since the August 2019 inspection?
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating and covered all five CQC questions, with each area rated Good. This explanation was written from the published report of 30 August 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.
Every inspection of Springwood
3 rated inspections over 3 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- December 2021Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- August 2019Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- July 2018Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- March 2017
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 17 March 2017.
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
45 live-in carers within about an hour of Stockton-on-Tees
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 £1,190 a week. 40 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
“I found Alison to be kind , caring helpful concencious... Alison has a heart of gold”
“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.