One of our residential service in Workington that supports people with learning disabilities has been assessed as ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of all health and social care services in England. The Crummock Road service, which is run by national charity Walsingham Support, was inspected under CQC’s audit criteria in July 2017.
The CQC inspects services against five criteria ¬– whether they are Safe, Caring, Effective, Responsive to Needs and Well-led. The service was deemed outstanding in terms of being well-led, responsive and in the ‘Overall’ category. All other aspects were rated ‘Good’.
According to figures on the CQC website, as of 1st August, only around 1.5% of CQC-registered residential care homes that had been inspected nationwide were rated outstanding.
The full 23-page report details the many areas in which the staff at the service were providing exceptional support to those living there. Below are just a few select quotes from the inspectors’ comments.
In describing the leadership at the service, the CQC inspector said, “The atmosphere of the home was open and relaxed. People obviously felt valued and respected and staff were happy working in the home and often gave their own time to projects and to things like outings and holidays. It was a place of laughter and sensitive care.”
“We observed sensitive and caring interactions between staff and the people in the home and between the people who lived in Holly Dyke. People were very involved with everything that went on in the house and their opinions sought. Staff took time to explain things to people and gave them choices.”
“People in the home had wide ranging activities and interests. We judged that the purchase of a holiday caravan had helped broaden people’s life experience. People in the home had chosen to attend activities and entertainments in the community which helped them to be integrated into the wider community.”
Sarah Smith, Locality Manager at the service, and Nadine Suitor, Deputy Manager, said:
“We are absolutely delighted and extremely proud with the positive feedback received from the CQC and the overall rating of outstanding. The staff team and ourselves feel this is an amazing achievement and that the dedication and commitment put in by all has been recognised.”
In a CQC press release about the rating, Debbie Westhead, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care in the North, said, “It was impressive to see how person centred the service was. People’s individual needs were really taken care of and this bespoke service reflected the changes taking place in their lives, confidence and abilities.”
“All the staff at Holly Dyke should be very proud of the care they are providing and I hope other providers look to their example of what outstanding care should look like.”
The full CQC report can be accessed via the following link on the CQC website: http://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-124120066