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CQC report explained · a nursing home, run by Barchester Healthcare

Dovedale Court

Dovedale Avenue, Ingol, Preston, PR2 3WQ

Goodpublished 13 December 2023, 2 years ago

Rated Good: inspectors found the service performing well and meeting their expectations.

The five questions inspectors ask
Safe?
Good
Inspectors found effective safeguarding, risk assessments, staffing, medicines management, infection control and safety checks. They found people were protected from avoidable harm.
Effective?
Good
This key question was not inspected during this visit. Its previous rating was used in calculating the overall rating.
Caring?
Good
This key question was not inspected during this visit. Its previous rating was used in calculating the overall rating.
Responsive?
Good
This key question was not inspected during this visit. Its previous rating was used in calculating the overall rating.
Well-led?
Good
Inspectors found clear management responsibilities, regular checks and audits, good communication and a positive staff culture. The manager and provider acted on incidents and used feedback to improve care.
The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, December 2023

Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind care and strong management, with no breaches reported.

This was an unannounced inspection. Inspectors visited on 14 and 16 November 2023, spoke with people, relatives and staff, observed care, checked medicines and reviewed care, recruitment, safety and management records.

The home was rated Good for Safe and Well-led. Inspectors found that people were protected from abuse, risks were assessed, medicines were managed safely, staffing was sufficient and the home was clean and well maintained.

Inspectors also found a calm atmosphere, kind interactions and good communication. Staff understood people's needs, worked well as a team and were supported by approachable management. The overall rating remained Good, as the other three key question ratings were carried forward from the previous inspection.

What inspectors praised

  • Safe care and risk management

    People had detailed care records and personalised risk assessments. Staff were trained to support people with distress or heightened behaviour safely and in the least restrictive way.

    “People had in depth care records covering a range of health and care needs, and personalised risk assessments were completed” from the report

  • Medicines managed safely

    Inspectors found that people received medicines as prescribed. Staff had training and competency checks, and medicines were stored, recorded and audited appropriately.

    “People received their medicines safely and as prescribed.” from the report

  • Kind and person-centred culture

    Inspectors saw calm, kind interactions. People and relatives spoke positively about staff understanding individual needs and supporting quality of life.

    “The atmosphere at the home was calm and pleasant, and we observed kind and caring interactions; indicative of a good culture.” from the report

  • Strong management and teamwork

    The home had regular checks, audits and meetings to monitor care and safety. Staff said they felt supported and worked well together.

    “There was good oversight of the service.” 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 supporting people who display heightened or distressed behaviour?
  2. 02How are people's care records and risk assessments reviewed when their needs change?
  3. 03How do you check that medicines are given correctly and that any errors lead to changes in practice?
  4. 04What improvements have been made, or are planned, to the upper lounge and dining room?
  5. 05What were the ratings and findings for Effective, Caring and Responsive at the previous comprehensive inspection?

This was an unannounced focused inspection of Safe and Well-led; the ratings for Effective, Caring and Responsive were carried forward from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 13 December 2023 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 Dovedale Court

3 rated inspections over 7 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.

  1. December 2023Goodcurrent rating
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read what inspectors found at Dovedale Court →

  2. March 2022Inspected but not rated
    Safe: Inspected but not rated

    We are reading this report · the original is on cqc.org.uk

  3. November 2017Goodup from Requires improvement
    Safe: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  4. November 2016Requires improvement
    Safe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  5. June 2014

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  6. August 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  7. May 2012

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  8. February 2011

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 15 February 2011.

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.

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