Skip to content
The Care Home DirectoryEvery care home in England

CQC report explained · a nursing home

What the CQC found at Telford Court Nursing Home

Goodpublished 18 February 2025, 19 months ago

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

The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, October 2020

Rated Good; inspectors found safe care and strong management, with improvements since the previous inspection.

Inspectors visited on 9 and 11 September 2020. They spoke with people, relatives, managers and staff. They reviewed care records, medicines records, staff checks, training, audits and safety checks. They also observed care and checked infection control arrangements.

The home was rated Good overall. Safe and Well-led were both rated Good. Inspectors found that risks were assessed and reviewed, medicines were managed safely, staffing levels and recruitment were suitable, and infection control measures were in place.

The home had previously been rated Requires Improvement, with two breaches of regulations. Inspectors found that the provider had made enough improvements and was no longer in breach. They noted one minor point for the home to address: making sure every policy was dated so staff could tell it was up to date.

What inspectors praised
  • Risk management

    Risks were assessed, kept under review and updated when people's needs changed. Safety equipment and emergency evacuation plans were also checked.

    “Risk assessments were regularly reviewed to ensure staff had access to the most up-to-date information.” from the report
  • Medicines

    Inspectors found that medicines were stored correctly and records showed people received them in the right way. Staff were trained and audits led to action where needed.

    “Records showed that people received their medicines in the right way.” from the report
  • Staffing and safeguarding

    Recruitment checks were in place and inspectors found enough staff with the right mix of skills. Staff had safeguarding training and felt able to raise concerns.

    “There were enough staff with the right skill mix on duty to support people's needs.” from the report
  • Management and improvement

    The management team used audits and action plans to identify and address improvements. People, relatives and staff were invited to give feedback.

    “Audits were completed regularly across all areas of the service.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • Policy dates

    minor

    Inspectors asked the home to make sure every policy was dated. This would help staff know whether guidance was current.

    “We discussed ensuring each policy was dated to ensure it was up-to-date.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01Have all the home's policies now been dated and checked to make sure they are up to date?
  2. 02How will you make sure risk assessments continue to be reviewed when my relative's needs change?
  3. 03How do you check that there are enough staff with the right skills on each shift?
  4. 04What do your recent medicines audits show, and how are any problems followed up?
  5. 05How are infection control, PPE and testing arrangements being maintained?

This was a planned inspection focused on Safe and Well-led, including infection prevention and control; Caring, Effective and Responsive were not given new ratings in this report. This explanation was written from the published report of 13 October 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, May 2019

Telford Court Nursing Home was rated Requires Improvement overall; inspectors found kind, effective and responsive care, but gaps in risk records and quality checks.

This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection over three days. Inspectors spoke with people living at the home, relatives and staff. They observed care and checked care records, medicines, recruitment files and management records.

The home was rated Good for Effective, Caring and Responsive. People were treated with kindness and respect. Staff were trained and supported, and care was generally personalised. People were also supported with activities, choices and access to health professionals.

The home was rated Requires Improvement for Safe and Well-led. Some risk assessments did not contain enough information, and some risks were not reviewed properly. Inspectors also found weaknesses in medicines practice and quality checks. Confidential information was not always protected, but it was secured during the inspection.

The overall rating means the home was not consistently meeting the required standard. The provider was told to send CQC a report explaining what action it would take. This was the first inspection rating since the provider registered in October 2018.

What inspectors praised
  • Kind and respectful care

    Inspectors saw compassionate care. People and relatives gave positive feedback about how staff treated them.

    “People were treated with dignity and respect. We observed staff providing compassionate, kind and supportive care.” from the report
  • Staff training and support

    Staff received induction, training and supervision. Training included areas linked to the needs of people living at the home.

    “All new staff received a thorough two-week induction; they were offered 'shadowing' opportunities and completed a range of classroom based and on-line training.” from the report
  • Person-centred support

    Staff knew people's preferences and support needs. Care plans were developed with input from people and, in some cases, their relatives.

    “Staff were familiar with the support needs of the people they supported, and people told us that they felt staff knew them well.” from the report
  • Activities and community links

    People could take part in varied activities and, where possible, access local events and community facilities.

    “Activities that were arranged included, 'funky choir', musical moments, tea dances, birthday celebrations and arts and crafts.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • Medicines practice

    needs fixing

    Inspectors found that records and reviews for medicines given only when needed were not always completed properly. Instructions for thickening agents for people at risk of choking were also not always followed.

    “'As and when required' (PRN) medication protocols were not always correctly followed.” from the report
  • Quality checks missed problems

    serious

    The home's audits and checks did not identify several issues found by inspectors. This limited assurance that care and safety were being properly monitored.

    “The concerns we raised during the inspection were not identified during routine audits, tools and/or checks that were carried out by the management team.” from the report
  • Confidential information

    needs fixing

    Sensitive information was not always protected in line with data protection requirements. The information was secured and measures were put in place during the inspection.

    “People's sensitive and confidential information was not always safely protected in line with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).” from the report
  • Mixed views on staffing

    needs fixing

    The manager reviewed staffing against people's needs, but staff and relatives gave different views about whether there were enough staff.

    “We received mixed feedback about the staffing levels from relatives and staff.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01How are falls, nutrition, moving and handling, skin care and positional-change risks now recorded and reviewed?
  2. 02What changes have been made to medicines given only when needed and to the use of thickening agents?
  3. 03How many staff are normally on duty for each shift, and how is this adjusted for residents' dependency needs?
  4. 04How do managers check that care records and safety measures are accurate and up to date?
  5. 05How is confidential information kept secure now?

This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection covering all five CQC questions, and it was brought forward after concerning information was received about an incident and possible medicines risks. This explanation was written from the published report of 30 May 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 Telford Court Nursing Home

2 rated inspections over a year: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.

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

    Read what inspectors found at Telford Court Nursing Home →

  2. May 2019Requires improvement
    Safe: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement

    Read what inspectors found at Telford Court Nursing Home →

  3. October 2018

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 4 October 2018.

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 Cheshire East

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 £1,260 a week. 88 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.

“She is an exemplary carer, she is knowledgable empathetic and very respectful in the home.”
Katrina R., about Camille F.
“He developed a close affinity with Terence, spending time talking with him before he retired to bed and looking after his needs during the night.”
John P., about Rodrigo Javier B.
See live-in carers near Cheshire EastProfiles, 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.