A LONG-established Keighley care home has received an overall Good rating from watchdogs after carrying out improvements over the past year.

Herncliffe Care Home in Spring Gardens Lane achieved a Good rating in four out of five categories -- with a “requires improvement” for safety – during an unannounced inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in October.

The home, which has been managed by the Kennedy family for more than 30 years, was classed as requiring improvement overall at the previous inspection in 2017.

Spokesman John Kennedy said: “The latest rating has come on the back of some very hard work from all of the teams at Herncliffe.

“It is pleasing that this rating has come after Herncliffe achieved its Investors in People award at Silver accreditation and in September achieved accreditation at Commend level for the Gold Standard Framework, which is awarded to recognise excellent levels of end of life care.

“Herncliffe Care Home has always had a very good reputation for its care and it is nice to receive recognition from the various regulatory and assessment bodies that the hard work put in by all has been successful.

"Providing care to the most vulnerable in our community is always challenging, especially with all the financial and political pressures involved, but it is a brilliant success story for all our care teams and ancillary staff.”

Herncliffe provides nursing and personal care for up to 129 older people, some of whom are living with dementia. Six separate wings provide differing levels of care and each have their own communal areas.

In the report, the inspector said “Overall we found the service provided high quality care and support.

“People who use the service, relatives, healthcare professionals and staff provided good feedback about the home and said people’s care needs were met.

“Some further improvements were needed to the safety of the service, namely ensuring there were consistently enough staff on duty throughout the home and ensuring the administration of topical medicines such as creams was done in a consistent way.

“These issues had already been identified by the management team and plans are in place to address them.”

The inspectors praised the “friendly and inclusive” atmosphere in the home with all staff working well together in the best interests of residents.

They said: “Staff treated people with kindness and compassion and knew them very well. Information about people’s past lives and interests have been used to stimulate conversation and provide activity that was meaningful.”

Inspectors said people were safeguarded from abuse and improper treatment. The home was clean and odour free.

The inspector said staffing levels were sufficient in most areas of the home, and staff said they felt well supported. The registered manager had good oversight of the home.

The inspectors added: “People’s nutritional needs were met by the service. They had access to a range of professionals to ensure their health care needs were met.”