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CQC report explained · a residential care home

What the CQC found at Starbrook

Goodpublished 20 December 2024, 21 months ago

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

The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, February 2022

Inspected but not rated; inspectors found effective infection controls, but recent staff shortages had reduced people's opportunities outside the home.

This was a targeted inspection on 7 January 2022. It followed concerns about staffing and focused on infection prevention and control, as well as the effect of staffing pressures on people.

The home had experienced staff shortages because of vacancies and COVID-19-related absence. This meant fewer activities outside the home for a time. By the inspection, temporary staff had been brought in and records showed the planned staffing hours were being provided.

Inspectors found good infection control arrangements. Visitors were checked for COVID-19 symptoms and given protective equipment. The home was clean, staff used protective equipment safely, testing was taking place, and vaccination checks were in place.

The home was inspected but not rated. This means the inspection did not give a scored rating for the service or for the Safe question.

What inspectors praised
  • Infection control

    The home had measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Visitors were screened, protective equipment was available, and staff were trained to use it.

    “PPE was available to staff throughout the service and staff were seen using it effectively.” from the report
  • Clean environment

    Inspectors found all areas clean and saw records showing that extra cleaning had been completed.

    “All areas of the home were clean, and records demonstrated the additional cleaning had been completed.” from the report
  • Staffing hours restored

    Although there had been shortages, records showed the home was providing the staffing hours it was contracted to provide by the inspection.

    “Records demonstrated the service was providing the number of staffing hours they were contracted to by the time of the inspection.” from the report
  • COVID-19 checks

    Testing was being carried out for people and staff. The home also checked that staff and professional visitors were vaccinated or exempt.

    “The provider had effective systems in place to check staff and professional visitors were vaccinated against COVID-19.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • Recent staff shortages

    needs fixing

    Staff vacancies and COVID-19-related absence had reduced people's opportunities to take part in activities outside the home. Relatives had raised concerns about the staffing situation.

    “This had resulted in people having reduced opportunities to take part in activities outside the home.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01How many permanent staff vacancies remain, and what is the timetable for filling them?
  2. 02Are people now receiving their usual activities outside the home, and how is this being monitored?
  3. 03How many temporary staff are currently working here, and how long are they expected to remain?
  4. 04How do you make sure temporary staff have the right training, support and supervision for each person?
  5. 05How are COVID-19 testing, protective equipment and vaccination checks kept up to date?

This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control and staffing pressures; it did not provide a full overall rating or ratings for the other questions. This explanation was written from the published report of 3 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.

The story over the years

Every inspection of Starbrook

Each visit the CQC has published, newest first, back to the day the home was registered.

  1. February 2022Inspected but not ratedcurrent rating
    Safe: Inspected but not ratedEffective: No published ratingCaring: No published ratingResponsive: No published ratingWell-led: No published rating

    Read what inspectors found at Starbrook →

  2. December 2020

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 1 December 2020.

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

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