Northamptonshire village care home given highest CQC rating after major improvements as other services told to ‘learn from them’

Pytchley Court Nursing Home, in Northampton Road, Brixworth, was inspected on November 5 and 6, when it was supporting 37 older people with dementia.

CQC inspectors assessed the care home, which is run by HC-One Limited, in a number of categories. The facility was rated ‘outstanding’ in the caring and well-led categories and ‘good’ for being safe, effective and responsive, which means an overall rating of ‘outstanding’.

This comes six years after the care home was placed in special measures, due to breaches of regulations and safeguarding concerns. In the previous inspection in 2020, Pytchley Court was rated ‘requires improvement’ overall, although effective, caring and responsive were rated ‘good’.

In the 2024 inspection, the health watchdog found a number of positives, including:

• The registered manager worked well with other organisations, such as taking part in research into dementia with universities.
• People were involved in planning and reviewing their care and understood their rights.
• Staff understood the importance of mental well-being and had received training in mental health first aid.
• The service had exceptionally inclusive leaders who had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively.
• All staff were proud to work at the home and spoke positively about their roles.
• Accidents and incidents were recorded in detail and people’s health and well-being were closely monitored afterwards.
• Staff were trained to detect and manage infections by regularly monitoring people with catheters or wounds for signs of infection.
• People were kept safe through regular checks and maintenance of the home and by following safe fire and water procedures.

The report adds: “People and relatives were overwhelmingly positive about their experience of living at the service. A person said, “I would have no problems recommending this place, I would say that it is a place with good care and that residents feel appreciated and free to live as they like.””

Another person added: “[Staff] are kind, they work hard, and they listen. They never make me uncomfortable.”

Susan Watson, manager at the care home, said: “Our outstanding’ overall rating from the CQC is a testament to the hard work and kind care that each and every member of the team at HC-One’s Pytchley Court puts in, day in day out.

“I would like to thank everybody across our home for their commitment, and we are delighted that their dedication to supporting those in our care to lead their best lives has been recognised.

“This is a great reflection on the efforts of our colleagues to provide kind quality care to our residents and families, and we are proud to be serving at the heart of this wonderful community.”

Steven Paisley, CQC deputy director of operations in the midlands, added: “When we inspected Pytchley Court, we were pleased to find people were exceptionally well supported, receiving safe care from kind, passionate staff who went above and beyond to provide a person-centred service which enhanced people’s lives.

“The service was exceptional at making sure people were at the centre of their care and staff took time to find out what was unique about each person and strived to incorporate this into their lives.

“It was lovely to hear from a person who had been supported by staff to attend yoga classes and shopping trips. Their health and mobility had improved so much that they were able to go and live back in their own home.

“All of the staff at Pytchley Court should be really proud of the service they’ve created. Other services should look at this report to see if there’s anything they can learn to promote improvements across the sector and to support people to lead their best lives.”

The full report can be found on the CQC website in the coming days.