Washington care home sheds decade of struggles to gain 'good' rating from inspectors

A Washington care home which has been rated as ‘inadequate’ or ‘requiring improvement’ for the last 10 years has been upgraded to ‘good’ one year after a new management team took over.
By Sam Johnson
Published 8th Sep 2020, 05:00 BST
Donwell Care Home, WashingtonDonwell Care Home, Washington
Donwell Care Home, Washington

Donwell Care Home, in Donwell Village, received the news after an inspection from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in August, receiving ‘good’ in all five areas of inspection - safe, effective, responsive, caring and well led.

The management team, led by Victoria Leighton, took over the home in September 2019. Victoria said they immediately brought in a number of changes to improve the facility.

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Changes highlighted by the CQC included more staff training, improved care files, resident input in meals and increased contact with family.

Manager of Donwell Care Home, Victoria LeightonManager of Donwell Care Home, Victoria Leighton
Manager of Donwell Care Home, Victoria Leighton

Victoria said: “We are thrilled to have received a Good rating by the Care Quality Inspection. Our people centred approach creates a home like environment where people are happy to live in.

“I am ecstatic for the home to have received this acknowledgement especially through the difficult times we have come up against through the pandemic”.

During the coronavirus lockdown, care home manager Victoria was praised for going above and beyond to ensure the safety of residents by staying isolated and not seeing her children.

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Throughout lockdown, the home has also been supporting residents through an extremely difficult time and has not reported a single coronavirus case.

Donwell Care Home, which is part of the Bondcare group, provides accommodation for up to 63 people and services include residential, nursing, dementia and palliative care.

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