Swarthdale Nursing Home

Updated 12 November 2024

Date of Assessment: 3, 4,10 and 23 December 2024. Swarthdale Nursing Home is a care home providing care and support for up to 43 older people who have nursing needs and/or living with dementia. At the time of this assessment there were 36 people living there.

This service has been in Special Measures since July 2023. The provider has demonstrated sufficient improvements have been made and the service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures and our overall rating has changed from inadequate to requires improvement.

We assessed the quality statements from all five key questions and we found areas of improvements and good practice. However, we also found 2 new breaches of regulations in relation to fit and proper persons employed and safe care and treatment. The provider’s recruitment process was not robust. Systems and processes in place to manage medicines administration were not always effective. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.

There were several areas of improvement seen across all key questions since the last inspection. These included the appointment of a new manager and an increased staffing team. Actions had been taken and the service was seen to be safer, and the quality of the oversight systems and processes had improved.

Updated 12 November 2024

People and their families were positive about the quality of care and how the service had improved. One person said, “I think the home is a lot happier since all the changes.” People told us they felt safe and were involved in planning their care and treatment.

People said they received care from knowledgeable staff who treated them as individuals. One person said, “I am safe here the staff are lovely.” Several people described how staff treated them kindly and with respect. One said, “The staff here could not be kinder.”

The service provided a variety of activities to keep people physically and mentally active. People were very complimentary about the food. One person said, “There is always plenty to eat and drink.” People knew staff and leaders well. A relative told us, “The management team have been amazing, they keep me fully informed.”