A Chester care home has been taken out of special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) watchdog.

The decision was reached at the Chester Lodge care home on Brook Street following a two-day inspection by two adult social care inspectors.

The purpose-built home, which has three floors, can accommodate 40 people. At the time of the inspection 24 people were living there.

At a previous inspection the CQC says it found ‘multiple repeated breaches of legal requirements in regards to safe care and treatment, nutrition and hydration, dignity in care, record keeping and overall governance’.

The home, run by Heathbrock Ltd, was asked to confirm ‘what they would do and by when to improve its rating from Inadequate to Good’.

Finding Chester Lodge now ‘Requires Improvement’ although the care it provides is ‘Good’, the CQC says: “On this inspection we found that a number of improvements had been made but further work was required to ensure full and sustained compliance with the regulations.”

The inspectors say that during their visit ‘the service demonstrated to us that improvements have been made and it is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore this service is now out of special measures’.

Quality assurance measures at the home have been reviewed and it has now acknowledged ‘that its previous monitoring of the quality and safety of care had been ineffective’.

Consultants and commissioners were brought in ‘to assist them in identifying shortfalls and making improvements’.

Residents and staff told the CQC the home has been ‘open and honest’ with them about the issues regarding the service ‘and what they intended to do to put things right’.

People receive their medication as prescribed and new staff employed at the home have an induction and work with more experienced staff to ensure they are confident and have the required skills.

Although recruitment checks are undertaken prior to employment, references are not always taken from the last employer and the inspectors made a recommendation in regards to this.

Accidents and incidents are effectively monitored and care plans are being reviewed although ‘some improvements’ are still required to ensure they are complete and accurate.

A number of people were at risk of malnutrition or dehydration and staff monitor this. Advice provided by health professionals is implemented to ensure that risks to residents’ health and wellbeing are minimised.

Residents told the CQC they feel safe at the home and are ‘very pleased’ with the care they receive. They and their relatives feel staff do their outmost to support them and protect them from harm.

The home is cleaner than at the previous inspection but some aspects still require refurbishment and repair. Some safety checks have not been carried out with the required frequency but steps were taken to correct this.

Residents are kept comfortable and they are treated with dignity and respect according to the CQC. They said the staff are ‘caring’ and always do their best to look after them.

Meetings had been held with residents, relatives and staff to discuss the future direction of Chester Lodge and to seek their opinion.

Staff are now more organised and have a clearer understanding of their role and responsibilities.

The inspectors say residents are positive about the care they receive and the staff. Comments included ‘I am very happy’, ‘I love it here’ and ‘They take care of you here’.

A number of people said they had been ‘very upset’ about the last inspection report and that it did not mirror their thoughts on the home. Relatives told the inspectors they felt welcome at the home and they could visit at any time. They had no current concerns.

The CQC reveals it had spoken to the local authority and to the NHS clinical commissioning group which had provided ‘positive feedback’ on the changes that have taken place.