STAFF and residents at a Cirencester care home are celebrating after being rated ‘good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Inspectors visited Watermoor House, on Watermoor Road, in April with the facility receiving ‘good’ ratings for safety, effectiveness, how caring the service was and responsiveness, though leadership still ‘requires improvement’.

The inspection was unannounced and took place on April 13 and 18, with the care home last inspected in November 2016, when it was rated inadequate and placed into special measures.

Services placed in special measures must be inspected again within six months, when management must show the CQC that a plan is in place to rapidly improve standards.

The latest report, published on May 31, states: “There were six breaches of legal requirements at the last inspection in November 2016.”

However, during the inspection in April, the report said, “the provider had followed their action plan” with regard to “meeting the requirements of the regulations”.

It said, the “environment had been adapted to meet the needs of people living at the home” while staff were receiving “appropriate training which was relevant to their role”.

In November, inspectors discovered that the management had failed to inform the CQC of a number of deaths at the home, while one staff member referred to the training provided as “useless”.

At that time, questions were also raised as to why no records of patients’ levels of mental capacity being assessed under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were being kept.

The 2005 Act protects and supports people with dementia, and outlines who can and should make decisions on their behalf.

There were 33 residents at the home at the time of the inspection in November, with several living with the first stages of dementia.

However, in the latest report, it said “where required” the home was “adhering to the principles” of the Act as well as Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

Regarding leadership at the home, the report said: “Quality checks had been implemented but did not always track where issues had been addressed or were still outstanding.

“The provider had put in place a system to drive improvements in daily records through staff meetings and supervision, but we found this had not been fully effective.”

Ruth Halstead, home manager, said: “We’re absolutely delighted with our inspection report.

“All of the staff at Watermoor House work hard as a team to provide the best possible care for our residents so we are over the moon to see that this is reflected in such a positive report and overall rating.

“We aren’t complacent though and we have further plans in place to ensure our policies and records are in line with the necessary requirements.

“Our latest report noted that there is a system in place to drive improvements in our daily records and we continue to focus on this area,” she added.