01603 507 596 Email: headoffice@blackswan.co.uk

Southwell Court receives overall rating of ‘Good’ in CQC Report

Name: Black Swan Care Group
Address: 10 Meridian Way, Norwich, Norfolk, NR7 0TA, GB
Telephone: 01603 507 596

01/04/2021

Southwell Court Care Home has received an overall rating of Good from the Care Quality Commission, following an inspection in February 2021.

We are over the moon to receive our first inspection report from the Care Quality Commission for Southwell Court Care Home in Cambridgeshire. On May 8th, 2019 the home achieved its registration with the CQC who stated the service was likely to be safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led. We are happy to confirm their assessment and are over the moon to have received an overall rating of ‘Good’ in our first full inspection.

When inspecting a care facility the CQC has criteria to judge the way the home runs and ensure it is providing the quality of care which is to be expected by service users.

This is split into five main questions:
Is the service safe?
Is the service effective?
Is the service caring?
Is the service responsive?
Is the service well-led?

We were over the moon to have been rated as ‘Good’ in each of these categories, with the report stating ‘People living at Southwell Court were provided with good, personalised care by staff who were kind, compassionate, easy to talk to and reliable.’

Within their inspections, the regulator speaks with staff, and residents alike to determine the effectiveness of our care on the wellbeing of the people residing and working within the home.

One of our residents told the inspector: “I think it’s perfect. The care you get, and they understand you. I’ve no complaints whatsoever.”

Person-centered care is at the heart of everything we do at Black Swan Care Group and is the main focus of our ethos as a company as outlined within our charter. Which made it even more poignant for us to receive these comments within the report:

‘People were encouraged to live the life they wanted to live and to remain as independent as they wanted to be. Staff understood how to support people’s privacy and dignity and provide the care each person wanted. Any concerns were listened to and addressed, and people’s wishes were considered as they approached the end of their life.’

Whilst establishing whether the service was safe, the inspector spoke with relatives of our residents, to see what their opinion of the service is. Within their findings, they found the following.

Relatives felt their family members were safe. One relative said, “Yes, [name] is very safe. If [name] is worried or concerned there is always someone there to talk to.” Another relative was particularly impressed by the way the staff had kept their family members safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the ways the CQC assesses care facilities is to look into how the home interacts with the local community, and how collaborative working can improve lives for residents. This has undoubtedly been affected by the coronavirus pandemic and lack of outside visitors, but within the report, they outlined the following:

‘People and their relatives knew they could talk to the manager or regional manager at any time if they had suggestions for improving how the home was run.

‘The provider sent out questionnaires to people and their relatives to gain their views about the service. The results were collated into a report which included the response to any comments/suggestions that had been made.

The provider wrote, ‘We are always aiming to improve the quality of life for all residents in the home wherever possible and welcome your suggestions. We will do our utmost to accommodate these wherever possible and practicable.'

‘Contact with the local community had not been possible during most of the time the home had been open. The manager was looking forward to a time when links could start to be made and developed.’

This is something we are looking forward to immensely, and we are beginning to see more visitors within the home. Each resident currently has one assigned visitor who can come into the building as well as socially distanced window, outdoor, and drive-thru visits with additional loved ones.

We are incredibly pleased to say that from Monday, April 12th each of our residents will have two named visitors who will be able to enter the home, all of whom will be required to take a Lateral Flow Test prior to entering the home.

We provide these tests which are self-administered, with a result being received within 30 minutes of testing, allowing you and us the peace of mind to visit your loved ones knowing they are at the lowest possible risk.

If you’re interested in touring Southwell Court as a potential home for yourself or a loved one, please feel free to visit this page for more details about the home and its facilities, as well as full contact details to arrange a viewing.