Home praised for its '˜first rate care'

Representatives from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) also heard that people living at Hastings Court on The Ridge felt “lucky to live here” and noted they were treated with “kindness and respect and as individuals.”

Hastings Court, which provides residential, nursing and dementia care for up to 80 residents, was inspected over three days in February 2018 and was found to be ‘good’ in all five assessed areas.

The report praised staff for their personalised care and relationships with residents.

“It was clear from our observations that staff knew people well,” said inspectors. “Staff made eye to eye contact as they spoke quietly with people; they used their preferred names and took time to listen to them. We saw several lovely interactions, staff used affectionate terms of address and gentle physical contact as they supported people, and people 
responded with smiles.”

The report noted a rolling programme of essential training was in place and there was “a clear emphasis on improving staff knowledge and competencies”. Staff ‘champions’ had been introduced to “consistently drive improvement” in areas such as infection control and medicine management.

The home welcomed new manager, Georgina Gamble, in March last year and inspectors noted the “fresh and open culture which had benefited the service.”

The report added: “The management team were open and transparent about the challenges they had faced, but were very proud of what the staff team had achieved in the past six months. They were committed to embrace the changes and continue to grow and develop the service.”

Ms Gamble said: “I took on this role at Hastings Court 12 months ago and since then we have put an immense amount of effort into transforming the care we provide.

“We are delighted to see this has been recognised and this is a great foundation on which to continue building.”

The home was praised for enabling residents to express their views and said they were “involved in making decisions about their care.”

The report said relatives felt they were able to talk to the manager and staff “at any time” and the “culture of the service was described as open, honest and friendly, by people and staff.”