Watchdog praises staff at “Good” Barnsley care home

KIND and compassionate is how staff at a Barnsley care home were described in a report by industry regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

During an unannounced visit to Deangate Care Home, in Mapplewell, inspectors spoke to residents, their relatives, staff and a visiting health professional.

They received “consistently positive feedback”, according to their inspection report, quoting one commenter as saying: “they’re doing a marvellous job”.

Other comments included “Staff are very pleasant”, “[Name of person] thinks the world of the staff and they think the world of [person]” and “Always find it clean and the room is spotless, [my relative] is always nicely dressed.”

Inspectors wrote: “Staff spoke about people with kindness and compassion and all staff took time to stop and chat with people throughout their work.

“We observed warm and positive relationships between people and staff.”

The report also stated: “Feedback from a health professional recently involved with a palliative patient felt they had “received exceptional care from staff who were attentive and looked after the patient with dignity and respect.””

“We’re like a family,” a staff member was quoted as saying.

Following their visit, inspectors gave the home an overall rating of “Good”, with the same rating across all five key areas of the inspection report.

These include: “is the service safe?”, “is the service effective?”, “is the service caring?”, “is the service responsive?”, “is the service well-led?”.

Alongside praising staff, the report also noted: “Activities were varied and included trips out.

“During our inspection the activities coordinator encouraged people to sit in the garden and offered milkshakes and white wine spritzers.

“Conversation revolved around what food people would like to see on the menu.”

Dawn Paley, home manager at Deangate Care Home, said: “We are absolutely delighted with our recent CQC inspection report.

“Our staff work incredibly hard to provide a safe and caring environment for those who reside with us and we’re pleased this has been recognised with a “Good” rating across the board.”