Prince George House wins approval of national care inspectors

Home news

May 11, 2018

A national care watchdog has given Prince George House the seal of approval, with relatives and residents praising its caring and attentive team members.

The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) report gave Prince George House care home, an overall ‘good’ rating, following an unannounced inspection.

The home was rated ‘good’ in four out of five categories for safety, effectiveness, caring and having a well-led service, and ‘outstanding’ for responsiveness. 

The report praised the home for providing residents with many opportunities to take part in a wide variety of social events and activities, based on their individual likes and experiences. It was noted that the team has created a ‘Wishing Tree’, which allows residents to make requests. Since being introduced, residents have enjoyed a range of different trips, including: attending Ipswich football club matches, fun-filled visits to the local bingo hall, and an outing to a local stable to groom and feed the horses. 

The report highlighted that there was plenty for residents to do at Prince George House. Inspectors were told that entertainers often visited the home to perform, and during the summer months residents had been delighted to be regularly visited by an ice-cream van. The report also highlighted that, when one resident was unable to participate in a group trip to the theatre in Felixstowe, the Care UK team arranged for the show to visit the home to perform for the resident instead. 

Residents were encouraged to continue, or take part in, hobbies while living at the home, from gardening to baking. One relative said, “Thanks to the catering team [their relative] is now baking and cooking again and, with the patience and encouragement of the team, they are knitting again…they have a new lease of life since they have been here.”

Residents praised the care home’s coffee lounge, where residents are able to make requests for preferred foods. One resident said, “We asked for custard instead of ice cream to go with the apple pie, and this was done for the next week.”

Inspectors found that the team encouraged residents to keep a memory box outside their bedroom door, where they could keep items that were important to them. This helped the team get to know each resident personally and tailor their care. 

The team received praise for their kindness and compassion, with inspectors highlighting the friendly and welcoming atmosphere at the home. Residents also praised the team for going above and beyond. One resident said, “The nurses are nice and they look after us very well.” 

The report highlighted Prince George House’s strong links with the local community, one resident explained that they had really enjoyed visits from the local Brownies.

Jennie Rodger, home manager at Prince George House, said “We strive to create a welcoming ‘home from home’ feel at Prince George House, and I’m so pleased our efforts have been recognised by the CQC’s inspectors. Everyone here works incredibly hard to support residents with compassionate, person-centred care, and to receive a ‘good’ rating in all four out of five categories, and an ‘outstanding’ in the final category, shows just how dedicated the team is in terms of looking after every individual’s needs.

“I’m extremely proud of our team and I would like to say thank you for their hard work and dedication, which I know is also greatly appreciated by residents and their families.”