A STROUD care home has received an overall 'good' rating from watchdogs after an unannounced inspection earlier this year.

Scarlet House, on Westward Road, achieved a good rating in four out of five categories - with a 'requires improvement' in the 'responsive' category – during a visit by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in January.

The home, which provides full-time residential, nursing and specialist dementia care for up to 86 residents, had been ranked as 'requiring improvement' in two areas in the CQC's previous report, in 2017.

But after carrying out improvements over the past year, the service now has new 'good' rating in one of those areas - the 'well-led' category.

Home manager Kate Stevens said: “Everyone here at Scarlet House works incredibly hard to provide residents with compassionate, person-centred care, and I’m delighted that our efforts have been recognised by the CQC’s inspectors.

“I’m extremely proud of the team and would like to say thank you for their hard work and dedication, which I know is also greatly appreciated by residents and their families.”

To assess service standards at Scarlet House, the CQC’s inspector spoke with team members, residents and their visiting relatives on the day of the inspection.

They also reviewed the records and procedures already in place at the care home.

The inspectors commented that residents were 'treated with kindness and compassion' by the care and nursing team.

The report also noted that residents were treated with dignity and respect.

Residents’ social needs seen to be were met, with inspectors observing the team supporting residents to take part in activities which were tailored to their individual needs.

The range of activities on offer was praised by the inspectors.

Where residents required support to engage in activities, this was provided by lifestyle co-ordinators and the care team.

The lifestyle team were also commended for fostering relationships with community organisations, including play groups, schools and the MP, to promote residents’ engagement with their neighbours.

The report noted that residents were supported through a range of communication methods to maintain their relationships, including the use of computer-based video calls.

People could also personalise their rooms, including furniture and mementos which were important to them.

Inspectors commended the management, who were described as approachable, and the team spoke about the positive culture home manager, Kate Stevens, was implementing.

The service was found to be consistently managed and well-led, with team members stating that they felt the management team promoted an open and transparent culture.

However, inspectors said improvements could be made in the 'responsive' category.

At the previous inspection in November 2017, the service was told "to take action to make improvements to ensure people would receive personalised care and their consent to care would always be documented".

This time inspectors found "The provider had taken the required improvement actions and our rating of the service improved at this inspection.

"The legal requirement regarding people's person-centred care had been met.

"However, the provider needed time to make some further improvements to ensure people always received person centred care."

For further details, visit: careuk.com/scarlet-house