North East Care Home Group first in UK to achieve four outstanding CQC gradings

This week a North East family run group is celebrating following the announcement that they have achieved four outstanding Care Quality Commission (CQC) gradings, the first care providers in the UK to achieve this.

The national average for outstanding CQC inspections is one in 200 care homes and Helen McArdle Care has four out of 17 [16 results have been published, Helen McArdle Care are still awaiting the results of the seventeenth].

Redesdale Court, located on Rake Lane in North Shields, has been rated outstanding overall in the home’s most recent inspection published 17 August. The service has been rated outstanding for being caring and well-led, and was rated good for being safe, effective and responsive.  A full report of the inspection is available here.

The purpose-built residential care home was given lots of positive feedback from the inspector. The inspector was particularly impressed with the positive culture within the care home, the extensive quality assurance systems in place that drive improvements and the staff team’s desire to provide people with the highest quality of care.

Chairman and Founder, Helen McArdle CBE, is thrilled with the group’s recent outstanding CQC grading: “I founded Helen McArdle Care with my family nearly 30 years ago and we set out to make a difference and to provide the highest quality of care for residents.  This latest inspection confirms that we are making a difference to residents, families and staff and that our care is outstanding.”

“This is a fantastic achievement for the team at Redesdale Court. Care Home Manager, Debbie White, has worked with me for over 20 years and in that time she has progressed throughout the company from a Care Assistant to Care Home Manager; for her management style and leadership to be graded as outstanding makes me very proud.”

Care Home Manager, Debbie White, was given particular recognition by the inspector, “The service was extremely well-led. The manager had a clear idea of how she wanted the service to develop.” The inspector also highlighted the innovative initiatives that the manager had introduced and which resulted in “people being empowered to live their lives to the full.”

Helen McArdle Care achieved its first outstanding at Eden House in Bishop Auckland in 2015, followed by Greenways Court in Consett and Park House in Guisborough in 2016. 12 Helen McArdle Care homes have been graded ‘Good’ and the group are currently awaiting the results of the seventeenth and final grading under the new inspection regime.

Helen McArdle Care currently manages 17 purpose-built care homes in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, County Durham, Hartlepool and Redcar and Cleveland. Over the next six months Helen McArdle Care will open three new care homes in Newton Aycliffe (October 2016), Jesmond (November 2016) and Peterlee (February 2017). Earlier this year the company was named in the top 20 recommended care homes in the country by carehome.co.uk and rated second medium-sized group in the UK in the Your Care Rating independent survey by Ipsos Mori.