A NURSING home in a village near York has turned its fortunes around to be rated as ‘good’ by Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors.

Somerset House Care and Nursing Home in Wheldrake has been classed as good across all the CQC categories of safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led, following an unannounced inspection recently.

The new rating marks a huge turnaround from December 2018, when the home was rated as ‘inadequate’ by inspectors.

Country Court recently acquired the home and has spend significant time and resources to restore the home to the same level as others in the care home group.

Home manager, Dipin Peter, was delighted that the CQC report highlighted the home’s clear vision, promoting high-quality, person-centred care.

He said: “We have a lovely homely atmosphere here at Somerset House, staff go above and beyond every day to ensure people feel well cared for and retain their independence. When we started at the home it was going through a very difficult period, but we have all pulled together to make it the welcoming home it is today.”

The most recent inspection report notes that staff know residents well and support people to be involved in their own care planning.

Residents’ comments about staff included: “They are very good to you” and “They just care about you.”

A relative told inspectors: “I think they (staff) are all very caring.”

Residents told inspectors that their food was “very good” and “lovely” and spoke positively about the initiatives put in place by the chef to enhance people’s mealtime experience.

Inspectors felt that staff were attentive, and people felt safe living at the home, with one resident commenting “because it is a nice happy environment.”

Somerset House is part of an initiative with the local clinical commissioning group (CCG) to reduce falls which staff spoke positively about and many parts of the home have been renovated to a fresh and modern standard.

“Our team at Somerset House put our resident’s health and wellbeing at the heart of everything they do every day, we are delighted that this is reflected in the report findings,” said Alykhan Kachra, managing director of Country Court.

“They have worked very hard to turn around what was a failing home when we took it over.”

Somerset House provides long-term residential and nursing care for up to 44 residents.