- Care home
Arden Court
Assessment report published 12 November 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Arden Court is a care home located in Salford, Greater Manchester and is operated by Wellington Healthcare (Arden) Ltd. The home is registered to provide care for up to 47 people. At the time of the inspection there were 32 people living at the home. This service provides accommodation for older people requiring support with personal and nursing care, some who are living with a diagnosis of dementia.
We carried out this assessment on 24 September 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.
People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority. In care homes, this can be done through a procedure called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), which is part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We checked whether the service was working within the principles of the MCA and how they managed DoLS within the service. We found that staff and management worked within the MCA. DoLS authorisations were appropriately applied for and overseen. People were not subject to unlawful or excessive restrictions; they had choice, control and freedom over their lives.
People were supported by enough staff who had the skills and knowledge to support them safely. Risks were assessed and people were involved in the process. There were effective systems in place to safeguard people from abuse. The provider’s recruitment processes were extremely robust to ensure they employed staff with the right values; staff received a thorough induction, ongoing training and wellbeing support. This approach ensured that all staff were suitably experienced, competent and able to carry out their role. Medicines were administered safely and there were systems in place to ensure the environment was safe. A new member of staff with maintenance responsibilities told us they received support from regional health and safety staff.
People's care was reviewed to ensure they continued to be supported effectively. Staff understood and monitored people’s health needs. They ensured people had access to other support as needed. Staff acted in people’s best interests, alerted other health professionals when necessary and explained to people the reasons for doing so.
Staff had established meaningful relationships with people and their relatives and were well-respected. Staff knew people well and this was apparent in the conversations we heard; these were light, friendly and humorous at times but with professional boundaries being maintained. We identified a lack of activities for people who were cared for in bed or preferred to spend time in their bedrooms. A new activities co-ordinator had been recruited and was due to start in early October. Staff and management understood the importance of activities to support people’s independence, health and wellbeing.
Care plans were person centred and covered key areas of people’s needs and risks. Risks were assessed and people were involved in the process. People felt listened to and involved in the service. They told us they felt able to make a complaint or have someone make one on their behalf. The provider monitored complaints for themes and trends and identified learning to improve the service.
The provider had a clear shared vision, strategy and culture. The management team led by example; staff understood the importance of upholding the values of the organisation and delivered good quality care with positive outcomes for people. A full refurbishment programme was in place to improve people’s bedrooms and communal living spaces around the home.
We spoke with the manager, deputy manager, a regional manager, a buddy manager and head-office staff responsible for recruitment during our inspection. All were eager to demonstrate the systems, mechanisms and processes in place that promoted and maintained effective governance, management and oversight of the service. Although the manager was new in post, they were receiving a thorough induction to the home and had support from a long-standing deputy manager, who knew people extremely well.
We observed a mealtime lunch service, received some negative feedback about the food on offer and informed the manager. They told us action would be taken to ensure people’s mealtime experiences were improved. After our inspection, meal options were discussed with catering staff during daily huddle meetings and a mealtime audit was implemented.
Effective systems were in place for continuous learning and improvement. Leaders demonstrated their commitment and openness to working with people and other stakeholders to ensure people were safe and had opportunities to do things they enjoyed doing. They were extremely well-supported by a team of regional and head office staff.
People's experience of this service
People, their relatives, and staff were complimentary about the manager and deputy manager. The manager was new to Arden Court and had submitted an application to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to become the registered manager. People and their relatives felt very safe living in the home; we received lots of feedback from people, relatives and visitors who spoke positively about their care experiences, expressing confidence in the management. One person said, “Management are good to talk to if you want something; [they] will follow it up.” People said they received good person-centred care from well-trained staff and our observations supported this. A relative added, “They love it here. The staff go out of their way to create a relationship.”
People were supported to understand their rights and how the service would make sure these were respected; friends and families were free to visit them and encouraged to join in life at the home. Comments included, “They let my brother’s grandchildren come in to see me, and I love that” and “They more or less let me do anything I want. I’m not worried anymore; I can have the grandchildren in to play Velcro darts.” A relative told us, “We are encouraged to connect with other families. On community days, 3 or 4 times a year, families and residents are asked their views and opinions.” Whilst people told us there were no formal meetings, they felt connected and informed. The manager had scheduled in an introductory meeting with people and their relatives, and further formal meetings were planned.
People described how staff treated them with kindness and respect, ensuring any personal care was done sensitively to help preserve their privacy and dignity. Comments we received included, “The staff look after me; they pop in and check on me. They will do anything for you; they treat you as a person,” and “They (staff) ask me how I am; if I’m hurting, they will come as soon as they can. They are very gentle, both the men and the women; I’m as happy here as I can be.”
People we spoke with described staff as “friendly” and “patient” and told us they felt included and listened to. Staff interactions we observed with people were positive. One person said, “Staff come in if I use the buzzer; they let me know they have heard me if they’re busy and will come back and help.” One family member told us, “Staff are on the ball; you’ve got the GP, the hospital and the care home all involved in a care plan and half hourly checks and so health needs are met.”
People knew how to make a complaint and felt comfortable in doing so. One person told us, “I did make a complaint upstairs and [to] the office. It’s been sorted out to my satisfaction.” Others were happy to involve family members and said, “If anything needs sorting, my brother is involved.” Families were positive about the team culture in the home. They were complimentary about the deputy manager and felt confident about the new manager who had only been at the home for a short while.
We observed staff offering people choices and people’s independence was promoted. People received care that focused on achieving positive outcomes for people and followed best practice, with input from a range of external health and social care professionals. We found people were receiving effective, person-centred care from a caring and compassionate staff team. A relative spoke very highly of the home and said, “This is the very best care home so far. Staff address my brother himself; ask his opinion.” The care and support staff provided was respectful and dignified; relatives we spoke with told us there was a real focus on the person.