Abbey Court
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3
NursingDementia
Rated 2 years agoReport explained
CQC report explained · a nursing home, run by Prestwick Care
Addison Court
Wesley Grove, Crawcrook, Ryton, NE40 4EP
Goodpublished 23 May 2025, 15 months ago
Rated Good: inspectors found the service performing well and meeting their expectations.
The latest report, explained
What inspectors found, May 2024
Addison Court was rated Inadequate and placed in special measures; inspectors found serious safety and leadership failures.
This was an unannounced inspection over four days. Inspectors spoke with people living in the home, relatives and staff. They reviewed care plans, medicines records, recruitment files, audits and other safety documents. They also observed care.
The home was not consistently safe. Safeguarding concerns were not always investigated properly. Risks, falls and medicines were not managed reliably. Recruitment checks were incomplete, and some agency staff did not know people's needs well enough.
Inspectors also found shortfalls in care planning, mealtime support, involvement in care, complaints handling and management oversight. There were some positives, including good infection control, access to healthcare and staff who spoke positively about the people they supported.
The overall rating fell from Good at the previous inspection, published on 27 October 2022, to Inadequate. Safe and well-led were rated Inadequate, while Effective, Caring and Responsive were rated Requires Improvement.
What inspectors praised
Infection control
Inspectors found that staff used protective equipment correctly and followed good hygiene practices.
“People were protected from the risk of infection as staff were following safe infection prevention and control (IPC) practices.” from the report
Access to healthcare
People were referred to healthcare professionals when needed, and health professionals visited the home regularly.
“People were supported to access healthcare services and support. Care records showed people had been referred to external health care professionals when needed.” from the report
Choice and legal safeguards
Inspectors found that the home followed the principles of the Mental Capacity Act and had appropriate authorisations where needed.
“We found the service was working within the principles of the MCA and if needed, appropriate legal authorisations were in place to deprive a person of their liberty.” from the report
Positive staff views
Staff spoke positively about the people they supported and said the care was good enough for their family or friends.
“Staff spoke positively about the people they supported. They told us the care at the home was good enough for their family or friends.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
Safeguarding concerns
seriousSome allegations of abuse were not investigated impartially or followed by robust action. The safeguarding log did not contain all incidents, actions, outcomes or lessons learnt.
“People were not always safeguarded from abuse and avoidable harm.” from the report
Medicines safety
seriousRecords did not show reliably that medicines were given as prescribed. Inspectors found unexplained missed doses, including one critical Parkinson's medicine, and weaknesses in records for creams and as-required medicines.
“Medicines were not safely managed. Records did not assure us that oral medicines were administered as prescribed.” from the report
Recruitment checks
seriousSome staff files did not contain suitable references, complete work or education histories, or verified references. The report says some agency staff had not been safely recruited.
“The provider did not operate safe recruitment processes.” from the report
Weak management oversight
seriousAudits and incident reviews did not reliably identify trends, investigate problems or ensure action was taken. Care records and handovers were also sometimes incomplete or inaccurate.
“The provider's quality monitoring systems had not been used effectively to ensure improvements were identified and acted on quickly.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
- 01What immediate changes have been made to ensure all safeguarding concerns are investigated properly and recorded with actions, outcomes and lessons learnt?
- 02How are you checking that every medicine, including Parkinson's medicines, creams and as-required medicines, is given and recorded correctly?
- 03What recruitment checks have now been completed for permanent and agency staff, and how do you make sure agency staff understand each person's needs before starting a shift?
- 04How are care plans and care reviews being kept up to date, and how are relatives involved in them?
- 05What changes have been made to audits, handovers and complaints handling so that problems are identified, answered and followed through?
This was an unannounced full inspection covering all five key questions, the premises and the care provided; all five ratings were reassessed. This explanation was written from the published report of 9 May 2024 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 Addison Court
7 rated inspections over 8 years: the service has slipped, from Requires improvement to Inadequate.
- May 2024Inadequatecurrent ratingdown from GoodSafe: InadequateEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Inadequate
- October 2022GoodSafe: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- February 2022Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
- September 2020Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not ratedWell-led: Inspected but not rated
- January 2019Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- January 2018Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- May 2017Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- July 2016Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- January 2016Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- October 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- September 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- August 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- July 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- July 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- June 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- September 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- September 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 30 December 2010.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission. A service can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections, not every contact the CQC has had with the service.
Another option
Or stay at home with a private carer
Many people who look at care homes end up staying at home with a carer who comes in for a few hours a day, or lives in. PrimeCarers introduces you to self-employed carers you choose yourself: interviewed, ID and DBS checked, from about £20 an hour or £1,120 a week live-in.
Same provider
Other services run by Malhotra Care Homes Limited
10 other services on the CQC register. A pattern across a group tells you more than one report.
Good
Bay View House
Whitley Bay, NE26
NursingDementia
Not yet ratedcare home
Bede House
Sunderland, SR2
NursingDementia
Rated 10 months agocare home
Belle Vue Nursing Home
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6
NursingDementia
Rated 5 months agocare home
Cestria House Residential Home
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2
ResidentialDementia
Rated 6 years agocare home
Covent House
Gateshead, DH3
NursingDementia
Rated 10 months agocare home
Nearby
Other care homes near Ryton
Lindisfarne Crawcrook
Ryton, NE40 · 0.5 km
NursingDementia
Rated 6 months agoReport explained
Ryton Towers
Ryton, NE40 · 2.3 km
ResidentialDementia
Rated 3 years agocare home
Red Brick House
Prudhoe, NE42 · 3.6 km
NursingDementia
Rated 10 months agocare home
Havendene Residential Home
Prudhoe, NE42 · 3.8 km
ResidentialDementia
Rated 3 years agocare home
Rosewood Villa
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE15 · 3.9 km
Residential
Rated 6 years agocare home
Dovecote Residential Care Home
Rowlands Gill, NE39 · 4.0 km
ResidentialDementia
Rated 18 months agocare home