A KENDAL care home has managed to work its way out of special measures but there is further work to be done, a report has said.

Heron Hill Care Home in Kendal was graded 'requires improvement' following an unannounced inspection by Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors last November.

This is one step above its previous rating of 'inadequate', given following an inspection of the home in April 2017 and forcing it into special measures.

Services that are in special measures are kept under review and inspected again within six months, with the expectation that they will have made significant improvements within the timeframe.

"During this inspection the service demonstrated to us that improvements have been made and is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions," the CQC report said, rating the service as 'good' in terms of how caring and responsive it is.

The report said that residents were 'safe' living in the home, protected from abuse, improvements had been made to how medicines were managed and meals were enjoyed.

"The staff treated people who lived in the home and their families in a kind and caring way," the report said. "Visitors were made welcome and people could see their friends and families as they wished. The staff knew people they were supporting well. They took time to spend with people and provided support promptly and patiently if people were anxious."

However, the care home was found to still require improvement in terms of how safe, effective and well-led it was.

The CQC report stated that some care records held were inconsistent, checks carried out on new staff needed to be more robust and a recommendation was made about guidance for staff around use of equipment.

Andrea Gamble, regional operations director for Abbey Healthcare said: “We are very pleased at the outcome of the most recent inspection and the acknowledgement of the improvements that have been made at the home, including having been rated good for caring and responsive.

"Over the last few months the home has worked in collaboration with all stakeholders to make the required improvements and ensure they are sustained going forward."