“Honestly, I cried,” she says. After an incredibly difficult year, Jo called Elena into her office to share the news. “I hugged her and cried. I said, ‘I don’t believe it.’ We are back in business, so we can breathe. We are relieved.”

Amanda Lyndon, CQC’s deputy director of adult social care in the West Midlands, said:

Go back to basics. Review every area of the service, ask what you are doing, why you are doing it and whether there is a better way. If something doesn’t work, change it and keep refining.

Mr Sharma’s advice to other providers is equally clear: “Safety, safety and safety.” Run your own inspections, use the tools available, keep information organised and focus on identifying issues before someone else does.

Joanne Randall the Nominated Individual, spoke to WMCA and explained that:

Joanne’s advice to other care homes facing a similar situation? Choose your support carefully. With so many consultancy options available, experience and CQC knowledge matter.

Ken joined the home six months ago, and was impressed from the start by the staff, residents and the positive atmosphere. Despite the stress and uncertainty the team experienced for more than a year, staff continued to smile, laugh and come to work determined to do their best every day.

“The fact that they’re so resilient to it and just thought, ‘We just do our best every day anyway’,” says Ken. “They would smile and laugh along the way.” Ken’s own sense of humour, he adds, helped keep that positivity alive.

The improvement has been warmly welcomed by staff, residents and families, many of whom had been waiting more than a year for positive news.

For Ken, the turnaround has been about strong leadership, meaningful change and investing in people. Staff have been supported through retraining and development, helping them understand the changes required and feel part of the journey.

As part of the national Better Security Better Care programme, we are offering FREE in-person Digital Healthcheck visits to review your data protection and cyber security policies. We believe that having a Digital Healthcheck could provide several important benefits for care providers.