Skip to content
The Care Home DirectoryEvery care home in England

CQC report explained · a residential care home

What the CQC found at Tremona Care Home

Outstandingpublished 28 March 2019, 7 years ago

Rated Outstanding: inspectors found the home performing exceptionally well.

The five questions inspectors ask
Safe?
Good
Inspectors were assured about PPE, testing, social distancing, cleaning, safe admissions and the prevention and management of infection outbreaks.
Effective?
Good
Does the care work? Training, consent, food and drink, working with GPs and nurses.
Caring?
Good
Are people treated with kindness and dignity?
Responsive?
Outstanding
Is care built around the person? Care plans, activities, complaints.
Well-led?
Outstanding
Is the home run well? The manager, the culture, how problems get found and fixed.
The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, April 2021

Tremona Care Home was inspected but not rated; inspectors were assured about its COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures.

This was a targeted, announced inspection on 11 March 2021. It looked at infection prevention and control during the coronavirus pandemic, rather than the full range of care provided.

Inspectors were assured that the home was using protective equipment safely, arranging testing, managing admissions, and following shielding and social distancing rules. They were also assured about cleaning, laundry, visiting arrangements and managing possible outbreaks.

The home was not given an overall rating or a rating for safe care at this inspection. This report therefore does not show whether the wider service was good or poor.

What inspectors praised
  • Protective equipment

    The home had enough PPE, and staff had been trained to put it on and remove it safely. Used PPE was disposed of as clinical waste.

    “The home had purchased adequate amounts of personal protective equipment (PPE) to ensure that staff could protect themselves and people living in the home.” from the report
  • Contact with family

    When in-person visits were not taking place, staff helped residents stay in touch by phone, tablet and window visits. A visiting suite had also been prepared.

    “Currently visitors were unable to visit in person so staff had set up different ways in which people could stay in touch with those who are important to them.” from the report
  • Cleaning and laundry

    High-touch areas were cleaned frequently, including during night shifts. Inspectors also found good oversight of laundry and suitable cleaning products.

    “Cleaning schedules had been updated by the housekeeper in light of COVID-19 risks and frequent cleaning of high touch areas was undertaken by all staff, both day and night.” from the report
  • Staff testing and support

    Staff had PCR and lateral flow tests. Staff who needed to isolate were supported to do so and continued to be paid.

    “All staff undertook both PCR and lateral flow tests in order to protect the people they cared for.” 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. 01What are the current arrangements for in-person visits and use of the visiting suite?
  2. 02How are staff currently trained and checked on putting on and removing PPE?
  3. 03How often are residents and staff tested, and what happens when someone tests positive?
  4. 04How does the home prevent and manage an infection outbreak now?
  5. 05What was the home's latest full CQC rating for areas not covered by this inspection?

This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control during the COVID-19 pandemic; it did not rate the wider service. This explanation was written from the published report of 23 April 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.

An earlier report, explained

What inspectors found, March 2019

Rated Outstanding overall; inspectors found kind, safe care, with especially strong activities, responsiveness and leadership.

The inspection was unannounced and took place on 21 January 2019. Inspectors spoke with people living at the home, relatives, staff and healthcare professionals. They observed care and activities, and checked care plans, risk assessments, medicines, recruitment, training and audits.

The home was rated Good for Safe, Effective and Caring. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines management, suitable training, clean surroundings and support for people's health, choices, dignity and independence.

The home was rated Outstanding for Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors praised the wide range of personalised activities, strong links with the local community, detailed care plans, feedback systems and exceptionally positive leadership.

The overall rating improved from Good at the previous inspection on 31 May 2016. The home remained Good in Safe, Effective and Caring, and improved to Outstanding in Responsive and Well-led.

What inspectors praised
  • Personalised activities

    Activities were designed around people's interests and included community events, a toddler music group, an art exhibition and events celebrating diversity.

    “There was a range of interesting and innovative activities on offer at the service, which were uniquely catered to people's needs.” from the report
  • Respect and independence

    Staff supported people to make choices, maintain their independence and have their privacy and dignity respected.

    “People's privacy and dignity was respected at all times.” from the report
  • Detailed care planning

    Care plans gave staff clear information about how each person wanted to be supported and were updated regularly.

    “People's care plans were accurate and contained detailed information about how they liked to be supported.” from the report
  • Strong leadership

    The management team was visible, welcomed feedback and used audits and meetings to identify and act on improvements.

    “The service was exceptionally well-led.” from the report
  • Community involvement

    People were encouraged to take part in local events and the home welcomed the public through coffee mornings and other activities.

    “People were supported to be active members of the local community.” from the report
  • Safe medicines

    Inspectors observed medicines being given with gentle prompting and found the medicines records complete.

    “Medicines administration records (MARs) were fully completed, indicating people received their medicines as and when they needed them.” 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 do you adjust staffing levels when residents need different levels of support or want to join activities?
  2. 02How do you use falls information to change a person's care and reduce the chance of further falls?
  3. 03Which activities and community events would be available for someone with my relative's interests and abilities?
  4. 04How often are care plans reviewed, and how will relatives be involved when needs or wishes change?
  5. 05How would you support my relative's end of life wishes, and could family members stay with them if needed?

This was an unannounced inspection of the whole care home, including both the accommodation and care, and all five CQC questions were assessed. This explanation was written from the published report of 28 March 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 Tremona Care Home

2 rated inspections over 3 years: the service has improved, from Good to Outstanding.

  1. April 2021Inspected but not ratedcurrent rating
    Safe: Inspected but not rated

    Read what inspectors found at Tremona Care Home →

  2. March 2019Outstandingup from Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Outstanding

    Read what inspectors found at Tremona Care Home →

  3. July 2016Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  4. March 2015

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 31 March 2015.

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 Hertfordshire

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 £1,300 a week. 82 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.

“She handled the new situation in front of her with such professionalism and I felt I could trust her 100%.”
Siobhan D., about Sithabile Tabile M.
“She was v competent and confident and we felt our mum was safe in her care. She supported us through a difficult time.”
Lucy D., about Loritha C.
See live-in carers near HertfordshireProfiles, 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.