Home rated ‘Good’ in recent inspection

FIELD View Care Home in Blackhall Colliery, County Durham, has been rated ‘Good’ in all areas following a recent Care Quality Commission inspection.

The purpose-built facility providing residential care for up to 36 people is part of the Maria Mallaband Care Group. It was found to offer safe,and well-led care following an unannounced visit from a CQC inspector, receiving a ‘Good’ rating across both inspected areas of provision.

Care is also considered ‘effective’, ‘caring’ and ‘responsive’, with ‘good’ rating across these three other key inspection areas still standing from the previous inspection report, published in October 2021.

The inspector spoke with service users, their relatives, managers and other staff, as well as reviewing records kept by the home.

The report states: “People and relatives reported they found staff were skilled, knowledgeable and competent.” They also described staff as “available, extremely supportive, and very caring.”

It also notes that they were not only “satisfied with the service” but felt “staff always went above and beyond in delivering the care” and were “passionate about providing good care outcomes and took ownership of their practice.”

Home manager Tanya Hardy said:

“We have an incredible team here, and I am so pleased to see their dedication and compassion reflected so clearly in this report, especially in all the wonderful comments from those living here and their relatives.

“The happiness and wellbeing of those in our care is always our first concern, and our colleagues go above and beyond day after day to make sure they have the best possible experience, and the best care –nothing is too much trouble.

“I was already very proud of everyone here at Field View, but after reading this inspection report I am prouder than ever.”

The report also found that the leadership team promotes “a positive, person-centred culture.”

It added: “The registered manager, deputy manager and staff put people’s needs and wishes at the heart of everything they did. Staff understood their responsibilities and were held to account for their performance.”

“Promoting a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empowering is so important to us –and foundational to the work we do,” Tanya said.

“We really do put people’s needs and wishes at the heart of everything –as this report points out. I am so pleased to see all our collective hard work recognised in this way.”

A RESIDENT at Millway House in Andover recently celebrated 70 years of marriage to his childhood sweetheart.

Graham Guppy, 91, and his wife Val, 92, met when they lived opposite each other as children and married in Cardiff in 1953.

Marking their milestone anniversary at the nurse-led care home, the happy couple enjoyed tea and cake and a weekend get-together with family and friends.

The husband and wife, who journeyed to Guernsey for their honeymoon in the early 50s on a small eight-seater plane, continued to satisfy their joint love for travel by visiting numerous countries across the world during their marriage – the Caribbean, America, and Canada to name just a few.

They have three children, five grandchildren and a great-grandchild on the way, and said their secret to a happy marriage was to always “work as a team”.

Home manager Claire Lousteau said it was heart-warming to be part of the couple’s anniversary celebrations.

She added: “70 years is just remarkable, and it’s been wonderful to see Graham and Val celebrating with everyone here. A huge thank you to Millway’s excellent activities team for organising everything.

“Graham joined us at Millway in May, and it’s lovely hearing about his and Val’s life together.”

When Graham and Val marked their 50th wedding anniversary in 2003 they were thrilled to receive a card from Her Majesty the Queen.

Now, 20 years on, they have had a very similar card through the post, but this time from King Charles III. A Fife care home worker has braved a skydive to treat residents at Preston House, part of the Holmes Care Group, to new garden furniture. Manager Tracey Sayle challenged herself to take on a skydive to help deck out the home’s garden with a suite of new furniture ready for the summer months, with many residents looking forward to spending time outdoors chatting and basking in the sunshine. Tracey was able to raise more than £3,000, and a celebration was held by residents, relatives and staff at the home after she came back from her adventure. She said: “I’m delighted that I was able to raise this much money for the residents – it surpassed my expectations. I was definitely nervous before the skydive, but it was all worth it in the end to see the smiles on the residents’ faces.”