Horsham care earns praise and ‘good’ rating from national inspectors

A national care watchdog has given a Horsham care home its seal of approval, with relatives and residents commending the home’s compassionate and dedicated team. 

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) awarded Care UK’s Skylark House, on St Mark’s Lane, an overall ‘good’ rating following an unannounced inspection. 

The comprehensive inspection evaluated the home across several key areas, including safety, effectiveness, care, responsiveness, and leadership – with all areas receiving a ‘good’ rating. The rating reflects the hard work of the team members striving to maintain the highest standards in all aspects of care.

The report spotlighted the positive sentiments expressed by residents, relatives, and visiting professionals toward the home and its team members with one resident informing the inspectors that the team is “amazingly kind and can’t do enough for you” with another adding “I trust the staff to keep me safe”.

Inspectors noted residents’ needs and preferences are included in holistic, detailed care plans which are personalised and support positive outcomes for those with diverse needs.

Commenting on these personalised approaches, Dorota Woloszyn, Home Manager at Skylark House, said: “We have residents who are hard of hearing. We communicate with those residents’ using whiteboard and pen, and picture cards – as those are their preferable ways of communication. In the past we had a resident on a respite stay who was profoundly deaf, we introduced him to use a tablet with the Google Transcribe app for communicating. Since using this, the resident’s life changed completely. Even now, he contacts us and says thank you for making his life so much better.”

The report also credited the team for encouraging residents to be active and independent, one resident told the inspectors: “I am as independent as I can manage, and they allow me to go at my own pace.” Residents are also supported with activities and trips; some were assisted to go on a trip to a local farm and others enjoyed spending time in the garden. Another requested to visit a local historic site which the team then arranged. 

Colleagues were highlighted as knowledgeable about individual requirements and fostered strong relationships with residents and their relatives with one person saying: “They are always cheerful and help, as if they really want to be there and care about us all.”

The inspectors were also impressed by the level of training. The home team received additional dementia training which allowed for an enhanced understanding of individual needs and meant they were better equipped to support residents with these requirements. 

Effective leadership was pinpointed, with praise directed towards the Home Manager, Dorota Woloszyn, for her clear oversight of the home and implementation of effective management systems.

Dorota said: “Everyone has contributed to making Skylark House an unparalleled place to live and work, and this rating stands as a testament to everyone’s dedication to brightening each residents’ day. 

“Our commitment to delivering high-quality care is unwavering, and we are proud to see this endorsement from the CQC. We believe that every resident deserves the best possible care and support, and this rating validates our ongoing efforts to meet and exceed these standards.

“I look forward to celebrating this achievement with the team and continuing to build on our success in delivering exceptional care.”

Skylark House has been designed to deliver the very best standards of care and to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives. The home provides full-time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short-term respite and palliative care.