A RIDING Mill care home has been rated "good" in a recent inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The inspection is an improvement for Wentworth Grange care home, with inspections in 2015 and 2017 identifying areas that required improvement.

However, the latest inspection found that the service was meeting the healthcare watchdog's expectations in all five areas assessed.

The service supports 51 elderly service users, some with complex needs, across two separate units.

CQC's report said: "People and staff told us the home was a safe place to live.

"People told us staff responded quickly when they needed assistance, and there were opportunities for people to take part in activities.

"The registered manager had a clear vision for the home."

CQC will be releasing a full report of their findings in the next few days.

The result of the inspection pleased manager Jeff Lee, but he says it's just the first step.

Jeff said: "We're pleased with the inspection, but it's only the start.

"We aim to get the higher award, which nowhere in Northumberland has managed to get.

"The staff have worked really hard and we're so proud of them.

"We're unconventional here and it's nice that they understand that we're going for normalisation."

Jeff explained that he felt other inspectors hadn't understood what Wentworth Grange was trying to achieve.

The service failed inspections as they lacked things such as red safety bars and specific activities - which Jeff felt had a negative impact on the normality that they were trying to achieve.

He continued: "We firmly believe normalisation is the best and that our guests are treated with respect and dignity.

"The standard in the industry is the grandma test - would you put your grandma there.

"But we go one further - we ask whether we'd live there ourselves."