Agenda item

Consideration was given to the latest quarterly summary regarding Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections for services operating within the Borough (Appendix 1).  Six inspection reports were published during this period (October to December 2025 (inclusive)), with attention drawn to the following Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) contracted provider:

Providers rated ‘Good’ overall (1)

·       Care Matters (Homecare) Limited Stockton retained its ‘Good’ overall rating which it last attained during a previous focused inspection (the outcomes of which were published in January 2021).  This latest outcome was deemed encouraging given the Committee’s past review of Care at Home which culminated in a range of recommendations to consolidate and strengthen the local offer.

The remaining five reports involved primary medical care services.  The Dovecot Surgery, The Eaglescliffe Medical Practice, and Yarm Medical Practice were all graded ‘Good’ overall, whilst Yarm Lane Dental Practice was meeting regulations in all five inspection domains.  However, A Vita Limited was graded ‘Requires Improvement’ (repeating its overall rating from the previous inspection in 2023) following two identified breaches of the legal regulations regarding ‘safe care and treatment’ (in relation to infection control and safe management of medicines) and ‘good governance’ (in relation to there being no clear oversight of governance).

The Committee expressed concern over the CQCs findings on services provided by A Vita Limited and asked if this could be followed up with relevant authorities.  It was noted that the briefing report included within the papers stated that ‘this service was archived on 26 September 2025.  Archived services are ones which are no longer part of a provider's registration with CQC.’ – enquiries would be made following this meeting as to what this statement actually meant in terms of the current offer provided by this service.

Focus turned to the section on Provider Assessment and Market Management Solutions (PAMMS) inspections (Appendix 2), of which there were eleven reports published during this period (October to December 2025 (inclusive)):

·       Stockton Lodge Care Home, The Beeches Care Home, Chestnut Lodge Nursing Home, The Poplars Care Home, Hadrian Park, Elton Hall Care Home, and Mandale Care Home all maintained an overall rating of ‘Good’ – the same grading all seven services achieved following their previous inspections.  Both The Beeches Care Home and Mandale Care Home had evidenced required improvements in the ‘suitability of staffing’ domain, whilst Hadrian Park had strengthened its offer of ‘personalised care and support’.

·       Green Lodge was upgraded to ‘Good’ overall following the ‘Requires Improvement’ judgement it had received after its previous inspection (published in August 2024).  All domains were now deemed to be of a ‘Good’ standard following past shortfalls regarding ‘safeguarding and safety’ and ‘quality of management’.  Similarly, Allington House was upgraded to ‘Good’ overall after sufficient progress was made in addressing concerns relating to ‘personalised care and support’ and ‘safeguarding and safety’ (areas which were identified as requiring improvement during its previous inspection that was published in February 2025), whilst The Maple Care Home received an overall rating of ‘Good’ (with all domains receiving this status) which represented a significant upgrade on its previous inspection when all but the ‘safeguarding and safety’ domain required improvements.

·       The White House Care Home had been upgraded from ‘Good’ to an overall rating of ‘Excellent’, reflecting evidence of high-quality provision in the ‘personalised care and support’ and ‘suitability of staffing’ domains (both of which were rated ‘Excellent’).

Praising the achievements of The White House Care Home and referencing its support of ‘education sessions and placements from a local college’, Members spoke of their understanding that this training was taking place over a longer period of time (not just a few days) and wondered if this was normal practice for all services across the Borough – it was stated that this query would be followed-up with the SBC Quality Assurance and Compliance (QuAC) Team after the meeting.  The Committee also drew attention to the excellent events programme employed by the service which allowed residents to engage in a range of activities outside of the home (both in the local community and further afield).

AGREED that the CQC / PAMMS Inspection Results – Quarterly Summary (Q3 2025-2026) report be noted.