A Ewell care home that was forced to close its dementia unit due to a suspected outbreak of Norovirus earlier this month has been rated ‘good’ by a health watchdog.

Priory Court Care Home in Old Schools Lane in Ewell Village received the upgraded rating in its most recent report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Surrey Comet:

Inspectors from the CQC said the care home was safe, caring, responsive, and well-led, but not totally effective in supporting people's freedom to make decisions themselves, in a report released on April 15.

Inspectors reported that residents “felt safe living at the home” and “had access to a good range of activities that matched their interests”, that staff were “caring and friendly”, and that the manager of the home, Shirley Emilio, was “focussed on the needs of people that lived there”.

But inspectors found that “people's rights under the Mental Capacity Act were not always met”.

The Act requires that as far as possible, people make their own decisions and are helped to do so when needed.

John Cunningham, chief operating officer for St Cloud Care, the care provider which runs Priory Court, said: “We are delighted that following the recent inspection, CQC has rated Priory Court Care Home overall as a “good” service.

“This rating recognises the fantastic work Shirley Emilio, home manager and her team have put into improving the care provided at the home.

“As with any rating, there is always room for further improvement and at St Cloud Care we are working hard to build on this success and we hope when we are next inspected the ratings will improve even further and show Priory Court is an outstanding overall service.” The ‘good’ rating shows signs of improvement for the care home.

In a report published by the CQC in August 2015, Priory Court was said to “require improvement”.

From Epsom: Suspected norovirus outbreak shuts dementia care unit at Priory Court Care Home in Ewell Village

The dementia unit at the care home was closed on Monday, April 4, following a suspected outbreak of Norovirus. The unit was re-opened last week.

Surrey Comet:

Symptoms of the virus include nausea, vomiting, watery diarrhoea and abdominal pain.

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