Care home makes 'significant improvements'

A care home previously rated inadequate and told it could not take new admissions has improved enough to be moved out of special measures.

Olive Row Care Home in Kettering, Northamptonshire, which had 23 residents when it was inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) between 26 March and 11 April, has now received a good rating.

Craig Howarth, from the CQC, said: "Leaders and staff should be incredibly proud of the changes and the culture they have implemented."

James Hopkins, chief operating officer at Kara Healthcare which runs the home, said: "This transformation has always been about people... our team worked tirelessly, hand-in-hand to raise standards and rebuild trust."

At the previous inspection in spring 2024, the CQC found "several concerns with the quality and safety of people's care" and took action to stop any new admissions believing people were at risk of harm.

The home was taken over by Kara Healthcare six months ago.

The CQC now said residents' care plans were being regularly reviewed including when needs changed and staff were said to have worked well with the GP and district nurses.

Leaders also made sure there were always enough staff on shift and that they received safeguarding training to know when to report concerns.

However, the inspection found leaders did not always manage the risk of infection including effective hand-washing or changing personal protective equipment.

Staff were found to not always provide people with timely personal care, however, systems were implemented to improve this.

Mr Howarth, who is the CQC's deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said it was "clear there'd been significant improvements".

"People and their relatives told us they'd also seen improvements in the way things were run and were given the opportunity to meet with, and feed back to leaders, which was a positive step," he said.

"Following our previous inspection, the home was in breach of several legal regulations, however the improvements made means this is no longer the case."

Mr Hopkins, said: "From the moment we took over, we acted decisively to stabilise the home and create a culture rooted in compassion, consistency and accountability.

"Olive Row stands as a home filled with warmth, dignity, and purpose."

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