RED Gables Retirement Home in Bude is on the up after a positive inspection by CQC this summer.

The manager, Katie Hartop, has expressed delight that the work the care team has put into making and maintaining improvements has been recognised.

Katie was employed following a report by CQC when it inspected the home in August 2015, rating the home as ‘requiring improvement’.

Katie said: “I knew we had the capability within the team to turn things around; staff just needed clearer guidance and supervision of practice, and systems already in place needed adhering to and improving.

“The residents are a joy to support and I was determined to be as transparent as possible with all concerned and to ask them how they felt the home needed to change.

“I am a firm believer that care is a partnership, working with the individual at the centre, with families, team members and professional visitors all working together.

“The home also looked shabby and I set upon an action plan for updating bathroom and bedroom facilities, and refreshing the décor.”

The CQC inspection report states: “People’s risks associated with their care were managed to help ensure their freedom was supported and incidents were minimised. People’s environment was assessed for safety and checks were carried out on equipment in line with manufactures guidelines, to ensure they were safe for people to use.

“People had personal evacuation plans in place to help ensure emergency services would know how to correctly support people, for example in a fire.

People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff. People’s medicines were managed safely.

“People and staff had confidence in the manager and were complimentary of the positive culture within the service. There were systems and processes in place to help monitor the quality of care people received.

“The atmosphere within the service was calm, people were supported at their own pace and staff took time to stop and chat with people. An external health care professional had written in the comments book, that the ‘the atmosphere here in the home is open, friendly and light’.”

People and their relatives spoke highly of the management of the service. One person said: “The manager pops her head round the door and asks if I’m alright,” and a relative commented: “Personally I can’t find a fault in anything.”

Staff said the manager had an ethos of support and confidentiality, and that she made herself available to people and to staff, at any time.

Katie is delighted that the service now has been rated as ‘good’ by CQC, however they do not plan to rest on their laurels. Katie said: “Although it is tremendous that we have moved Red Gables from ‘inadequate’ to ‘good’ in CQC ratings within a short space of time, I now have my mind set on achieving the ‘outstanding’ rating, and with the support of all stakeholders and the passion for good practice I see every day in my team, I am confident we will achieve this as we strive to ensure the very best care for our residents at all times.”

CQC reports can be viewed at www.cqc.org.uk