Staff at a West Cumbrian care home were each given an £100 voucher after inspectors rated it as good.
Newlands Care Home in Workington was visited by officials from the Care Quality Commission in January, and their report has been recently published.
Inspectors visited after concerns were raised over the home’s management of medicines, residents’ care needs, staffing and management practices.
Inspectors said: “The provider and registered manager responded openly to the concerns we raised, and ensured issues were investigated robustly.”
They found that the overall services were good – with people well looked after, supported and safe. They said while there had been an improvement in medicine management since the last inspection in 2017, there were still improvements to be made.
The report said: “The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection. We found no evidence during this inspection people were at risk of harm from the concerns raised.”
During the visit to the home on Newlands Park Road, inspectors talked to three residents, 12 family members and nine staff. They reviews five people’s care records, seven people’s medication records and three staff files.
They rated the home’s safety as good – at its last inspection, it was rated as ‘requires improvement’.
Inspectors said: “The provider’s medicine management policies and procedures were followed by staff. However, we found some gaps in records which we raised with the registered manager. The registered manager addressed these during the inspection.
“When there were medication errors, we found inconsistent handling of these errors. There was evidence of a review of each medication error. However, there was no evidence of a review of all the errors together to look for themes or trends to reduce the amount of errors made. Despite this, there had been no negative
impact on the people in the home from the medication errors recorded.”
They found that the service was well-led and leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care and added that the manager had responded to a potential concern regarding an allegation of racism quickly.
The home is run by Barchester Healthcare and to thank staff for their contribution, each was presented with an £100 gift voucher in appreciation of their hard work.
Kim Whelan, general manager, said: “We are delighted. The team at Newlands always strive to provide the best possible quality care for everyone who lives at the home.”
