Staff praised for improvements at Whorlton Hall care home

AN inspection report has acknowledged improvements to services at an independent hospital in Teesdale following previous concerns about patient safety.

The Care Quality Commission has now rated Whorlton Hall as “good” overall following an inspection last September. Bosses say the achievement is “fantastic” and have hailed the hard work of staff.

The hospital provides assessment and treatment for men and women aged 18 years and over living with learning disabilities, complex needs and autism. It also caters for those who have additional physical or mental health needs.

The facility was rated as “good” with regards to being safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

Despite finding gaps in cleaning records during previous visits, the latest inspection found that the service was clean and tidy with a fully equipped clinic room. Checks also found the building to be safe. This is the fourth time the facility, which is operated by Danshell Group, has been visited by inspectors. Staffing issues emerged previously which led to concerns for patient safety. Inspectors visited again in August and November 2016 to check if improvements were being made. Another full inspection was carried out in September of which the findings are detailed in the recently published report.

Inspectors noted how there were sufficient members of staff on site to meet the needs of patients. The report read: “Staff were motivated and morale within the team was positive.

“We observed staff interacting with patients in a kind, respectful and dignified manner throughout our inspection and patients and carers who spoke with us said staff treated them well and as individuals.”

The report also praised the experience and role mix of staff as well as identifying a good level of support from peers and managers.

The service was deemed to be effective with person-centred care records.

Meanwhile, despite the building being clean and tidy, inspectors noted that there was a smell of urine in one of the male bedroom areas.

Rooms also had no signs on the doors to say what they were used for. All of the doors were painted white which made it hard to navigate around the building and risked people entering the wrong rooms. The service was also found to be lacking a male in-house laundry service which meant male and female patients were not being treated equally.

However, Danshell reported that there were no complaints about Whorlton Hall in the previous 12 months on May 31 last year. There was also no evidence of any complaints between June 2017 and the time of the latest inspection.

Manager of Whorlton Hall Chris Shield said: “I am delighted with the CQC outcome. It has been a real team effort and everyone has worked hard together to make Whorlton Hall the fantastic place it is today.

“We have taken on board all the feedback from the CQC and endeavour to further improve our service and build on our strengths of integrating the people we support into the local community in diverse and meaningful ways.”

The divisional managing director for Danshell’s central division, Sharena Record, added: “This is a fantastic achievement for Whorlton Hall and I am proud of our committed and professional team, many of whom have worked there for many years. Their number one priority is to provide the best possible quality of life for the people we support and the CQC report is a lovely reflection of all the wonderful work they do.”