A HEREFORD care home has been rated by the Care Quality Commission after care concerns were raised.

Inspectors visited Charles Court Care Home in Hereford after receiving concerns in relation to the safety of care and how people were supported to obtain care from other health and social care professionals, carrying out a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective, and well-led only.

The home, which provides care for up to 75 people, had 60 residents at the time of the inspection in December, the Care Quality Commission's report said.

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Improvements had been made since the last inspection, at which the care home was rated as 'requires improvement', to the way people's risks were managed and to the information provided to staff to guide them how to care for people, inspectors said.

But further improvements were required in medicine management and staff practice to ensure safety needs were consistently met.

The report said that checks on the quality and safety of care provided had improved, but further development was needed, to ensure opportunities for learning were identified and improvements made.

Inspectors said people were protected from abuse, staff safely recruited, and there were enough staff to meet people's safety needs, while temporary staff worked alongside more experienced staff where possible.

Residents said staff who regularly supported them knew how to assist them, while staff had received relevant training.

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Residents, relatives and staff were involved in assessments and people were promptly and appropriately supported to see other health and social care professionals, to have enough to drink and eat, and to have maximum choice and control of their lives.

Staff said they felt listened to and supported to provide good care by the registered manager and senior staff.

Inspectors said the provider was no longer in breach of regulations, rating it as 'requires improvement' in the safe and well-led categories, and as 'good' in the effective category.

The CQC said they will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety.

A spokesperson for the home said: “As noted in the CQC’s report, we have been responsive to the areas of improvements noted during the inspection itself. This included improvements to our infection control measures and to our record keeping.

"Since the inspection last year, we have continued to progress our internal Quality action plan to ensure consistent delivery of the improvements required, with continuous monitoring processes in place to ensure this progress is sustained.

"We’re pleased to hear relatives and residents feel that staff are kind and the service is safe, and that inspectors deemed the service to be effective, meaning that people's care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life.”