Housing 21 – Marigold Court, an extra care housing service in Gateshead, was rated Good overall across all three inspected key questions (Safe, Caring, Well-Led) at its April 2023 inspection. No failures or regulatory breaches were identified; the service demonstrated strong safeguarding, safe medicines management, person-centred care, and effective governance with a positive organisational culture.
Strengths
· People were safe from the risk of abuse with robust safeguarding policies, training, and confident staff.
· Medicines were managed safely with regular audits and prompt action on identified issues.
· Sufficient safely recruited staff with all pre-employment checks including DBS in place.
· Infection prevention and control measures were in place with appropriate PPE use.
· People were supported to maintain independence, dignity and privacy with person-centred care records.
Quality-Statement breakdown (12)
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuse; Learning lessons when things go wrongGood
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and management; Preventing and controlling infectionGood
safe: Staffing and recruitmentGood
safe: Using medicines safelyGood
caring: Ensuring people are well treated and supported; respecting equality and diversityGood
caring: Supporting people to express their views and be involved in making decisions about their careGood
caring: Respecting and promoting people's privacy, dignity and independenceGood
well-led: Promoting a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empoweringGood
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about their roles, understanding quality performance, risks and regulatory requirementsGood
well-led: Engaging and involving people using the service, the public and staff, fully considering their equality characteristicsGood
well-led: Continuous learning and improving careGood
Marigold Court, an extra care housing service for up to 41 people, was rated Good overall with an Outstanding rating for caring, reflecting consistently compassionate, dignified and person-centred staff practice praised unanimously by people, relatives and professionals. No regulatory breaches were identified; the service demonstrated safe medicines management, robust recruitment, effective staff training and strong leadership from a well-regarded registered manager.
Strengths
· People made overwhelmingly positive comments about the caring attitude of staff, with all service users and relatives saying they would recommend the service
· Staff demonstrated detailed knowledge of people's individual needs, backgrounds and personalities, enabling personalised care
· Robust recruitment procedures including DBS checks and employment history verification were consistently followed
· Medicines management was safe with accurate records, periodic audits, and staff competency checks
· Strong registered manager with visible presence, praised by people, relatives, staff and visiting professionals
Housing & Care 21 - Marigold Court is a Good-rated extra care housing domiciliary service providing personalised, safe and effective care to 35 people, with an Outstanding rating for caring reflecting exceptional staff compassion and strong relationships. Minor gaps in personnel record completion and absence of written quality audit reports were noted but did not affect the overall rating.
Concerns (2)
minorRecord keeping: “On checking the recruitment process we noted that some personnel files were incomplete. The manager assured us this was due to waiting for information to be sent over from the provider's human resources department.”
minorGovernance: “We noted that no written reports were produced as a result of these visits to confirm their findings. There had been no audit last year and we were informed the provider's quality team was due to visit during 2017.”
Strengths
· People and relatives consistently praised staff as extremely caring, compassionate and respectful of privacy and dignity, with Outstanding rating maintained from previous inspection.
· Sufficient staffing capacity with consistent, regular care workers and well-organised rosters ensuring continuity of support.
· Medicines administration was well-managed with trained and competency-checked staff, accurately completed administration records audited weekly.
· Care planning was personalised, focused on individual well-being, preferences and outcomes, with people and families involved in reviews.
· Strong community links and varied activities programme helped prevent social isolation, including partnerships with local schools, supermarkets and organisations such as the Alzheimer's Society.
effective:
Good
caring: Kindness, compassion and dignityOutstanding