The local authorities across the North West with the best performing care homes have been revealed, thanks to a new report from online training provider High Speed Training.

The report, which analysed Care Quality Commission (CQC) data for over 13,500 care  homes across England found that, in the North West, 80.05 percent of care homes analysed were rated either good or outstanding, which places the region 7th in the national rankings.

The analysis reveals a sector demonstrating significant resilience and a strong commitment to excellence, with the vast majority of providers meeting or exceeding national standards.

The top performing local authority in the region was Wigan, with 92.45 percent of its care homes scoring either good or outstanding, and only 7.55 percent rated as inadequate or requiring improvement.

The lowest performing local authority in the region was the Wirral with 66.02 percent of its care homes rated good or outstanding, with 33.98 percent rated as inadequate or requiring improvement.

The local authority with the highest percentage of ‘Outstanding’ care homes was Trafford, with an impressive 13.73 percent of its care homes receiving the top rating.

The local authority with the highest percentage of ‘inadequate’ care homes was Cheshire West and Chester, with 5.48 percent of its care homes receiving the lowest rating.

11 local authorities in the region have 0% of their care homes rated as Inadequate, including Blackpool, Bolton, Oldham, Salford, and Wigan.

Manchester performed significantly better than Liverpool, with a combined good or outstanding rate of 81.08 percent to Liverpool’s 66.67 percent, which saw the Merseyside city place in the bottom three local authorities in the region.

The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England.

They regulate health and social care, working with the public, systems and providers of care to protect people and to prompt and improve the quality of care given.

During an inspection, the CQC assesses a provider against five core pillars, known as the Five Key Questions.

These questions ensure that every aspect of a resident’s experience and the provider’s clinical safety is evaluated.

The five key questions asked of every service are:

• Safe: Are residents protected from abuse and avoidable harm?
• Effective: Does the care, treatment, and support achieve good outcomes and promote a good quality of life?
• Caring: Do staff treat residents with kindness, dignity, and respect?
• Responsive: Are services organised to meet the individual needs of residents?
• Well-led: Does the leadership and management of the organisation ensure the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care?

Well-led is the most challenging pillar for the industry to master.

Across England, it accounts for more ‘Requires Improvement’ or Inadequate’ ratings than any other category.

You are 7 times more likely to find a shortfall in ‘Well-led’ than you are in ‘Caring’.

This confirms that governance, auditing, and leadership are the most difficult standards for providers to maintain consistency.

Across England, 82.7 percent of care homes were rated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’.

The best performing region was the North East, with 91.5 percent of care homes across the region rated either good or outstanding.

The lowest region was the West Midlands, though 76.9 percent of the homes analysed received a good or outstanding rating.

The best performing local authorities across England were Merton, Westminster, City of Bristol and Islington, with 100 percent of the homes in each local authority achieving a rating of good or outstanding.

The lowest performing local authorities were Slough, Rutland and the Wirral, with the percentage of homes in these areas receiving a good or outstanding standing at 57.14 percent, 63.64 percent and 66.02 percent respectively.

Dr Richard Anderson, Director of Learning at High Speed Training, said: “The ratings provided by the CQC are a really important part of the care home landscape, as they give the public an accessible way to assess the quality of care available to them.

“Our report shows that, across England, standards are really high, with almost 83 percent of care homes across England receiving a rating of ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’.

“These ratings are a direct reflection of how safely and effectively that establishment operates, and we urge both the homes themselves, and the people who use them, to take them seriously.

“For establishments that perform well, a high rating is a real selling point.

“However, establishments with a lower rating can be off-putting for customers, which can ultimately have a significant impact on reputation.

“The high average ratings show that a commitment to proper and safe practices, including a robust program of staff training, are crucial to keep performing at high standards.”

For more on the results and the methodology, please view the full report.