Nursing home in Edwinstowe receives its best watchdog rating for six years

The 49-bed Nightingale home on Fourth Avenue has been plagued by below-par ratings, including two of ‘Inadequate’ and three of ‘Requires Improvement’, since 2016.

When the home was inspected last June, it was placed in Special Measures and even threatened with closure.

Inspectors slammed the poor quality of care and insufficient staffing levels, saying patients were at risk, medicines were not managed and equipment was not clean. They also served warning notices in relation to six breaches of legal regulations.

However, Nightingale’s latest CQC report, which follows an unannounced inspection in December, has noted a significant improvement and handed the home a rating of ‘Good’, removing it from Special Measures.

The home’s interim manager, David Chimhini, said: “I am delighted with the outcome of the inspection, and to see the improvements made within such a short period of time.

"The improvements are made even more noteworthy because the service has been under extra pressure as a result of the pandemic. We have lost residents due to Covid-19.

"I’m particularly pleased to see the feedback from residents, their families and friends and my team about the support they have received.

"The CQC report notes that most of the residents and their relatives described the staff at Nightingale as good, caring, kind, friendly and helpful.

"My team has worked extremely hard to improve standards. I thank them for their exceptional efforts, and we will continue to endeavour to maintain those standards.”

The Nightingale home is run by the private Lincolnshire-based company Jasmine Healthcare Ltd, which bought it from Midland Healthcare Ltd in 2020.

It cares for adults aged 65 and over who require nursing or personal care. Some have dementia, mental health conditions or physical disabilities.

At the time of the CQC visit, 28 residents were living there, and inspectors spoke to them as well as relatives, managers and staff.

The report noted that there were enough staff ‘to provide care which kept people safe’ and to ‘prescribe medicines safely’.

"The service was clean, and the approach to cleanliness and infection control had improved since we last inspected,” the report went on. "Staff got the right training to meet people’s needs.”

The home respected the privacy and dignity of residents, who were encouraged to have a varied diet.

They were also free to express their own views and make their own choices, while relatives were kept informed about care plans.

A policy and process for managing complaints was also in place, and the whole ‘environment was suitable for people’s needs’.

The CQC inspector also praised the management team, saying the home was well-led.

"Regular audits were effective in identifying areas where improvements were needed, and regular feedback was sought from residents, relatives and staff about the quality of the service,” the report continued.

"Any issues raised were acted on promptly and everyone was told so they could see what had been improved.”

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