A CARE home and a homecare service have been told they need to improve the service they provide while another care home has been rated as ‘good’.

The owners of Bramble Lodge Care Home in Middlebrough were told that their service requires improvement after an inspection by the Care Quality Commission in January.

A purpose-built care home which operates one unit for people with a mental disorder and another for people with dementia, Bramble Lodge has space for 41 residents.

The CQC team found that the service was effective and caring but required improvement in responding to people’s needs and leadership.

Inspectors found that while there was sufficient staff on duty medicines were not always managed safely.

While the service was well led, inspectors felt that some improvement was needed.

The operators of Fountains Homecare in Darlington, a domiciliary care agency providing care for people in their own homes, were also told the service needed to be improved after an inspector by a CQC team in January.

While Fountains Homecare was said to be caring and responsive to clients needs, inspectors ruled that the service was not always safe and some staff had been recruited without appropriate checks.

The CQC found that the service was not always effective and better staff training was required.

Inspectors found that quality checks needed to be more robust.

Bradbury House, a care home which provides specialised nursing for clients with physical disabilities, in Crook, County Durham, was inspected by the CQC in November last year.

Providing care for up to 24 people the service was found to be caring but requiring improvement in relation to responding to client’s needs and ensuring there were sufficient staff on duty