The team at Knighton’s Cottage View residential care home has welcomed its latest very positive inspection report from Care Inspectorate Wales.

Care Inspectorate Wales found that residents of the care home are happy with the care they receive and that staff work hard to make sure people feel at home and their ‘personal outcomes’ are met.

Cottage View is unique in Wales that it is the only care home managed by a health board; in this case Powys Teaching Health Board, and it was inspected in February. It is co-located with Knighton Community Hospital.

The inspection report contained no improvement notice or priority action notices.

Chris Creemer is the home’s registered manager.

“I’m really pleased that Care Inspectorate Wales recognised the tremendous amount of hard work that my team puts in to providing the best possible service to our residents,” she said.

“We work hard to provide a good service to thepeople who choose to make Cottage View their home.” 

There are 15 places available at the site. 10 are for long stay residents and a further five places have been introduced in the Panpwnton Ward of the hospital – on a temporary basis - to provide reablement as part of the mid Powys collaborative with Powys County Council.

The reablement approach allows more people to receive care closer to home, reducing the length of stay in a district general hospital or in community hospitals further away from Knighton; particularly whilst waiting for a care package to enable them to return home. East Radnorshire faces particular challenges in recruiting and retaining a domiciliary care workforce.

The care home was originally transferred to the then Powys NHS Trust in 1998 in partnership with the council when the council run care home called ‘The Cottage’ was closed and a purpose built 10 bedded wing was added to Knighton Hospital. 

The care home was inspected in February 2024 with no improvement notices and no priority action notices, and in summary the CIW found: 

“People are happy with the care and support they receive at Cottage View. Care staff are friendly, caring and kind. They work very hard to make sure people feel at home and their personal outcomes are met. There are opportunities for people to do things they enjoy and are interested in.

“The manager has very good oversight of the service. Care staff feel very well supported and good teamwork is evident. They have training opportunities, so they have the knowledge and skills to provide the right care for people. Information within personal plans tell care staff how people want to be supported and people are involved in reviewing these to make sure their personal outcomes are met.

“The responsible individual (RI) visits the service as part of the quality assurance process. Reports are produced showing what is working well and what needs to improve. The management demonstrate a commitment to making sure people feel happy living in Cottage View and they have the right support to achieve their personal outcomes.”

The full report is available from the CIW website at: www.careinspectorate.wales/cottage-view

David Farnsworth, the health board’s  Interim Executive Director of Operations, said: “This is a great testament to the work of the Cottage View team – particularly given the recent expansion of the facility to provide a new reablement service – and to the wider support and leadership across the health board.”

Mr Farnsworth added that work continues to maintain and expand the range of services available particularly in an outpatient setting.

More information about recent & future developments is available in the Knighton and East Radnorshire Community Focus newsletter.