Transparency, openness and trust were the key ingredients to a care home transformation as inspectors upgraded its rating from inadequate to good.

Lound Hall Nursing Home, in Jay Lane, Lound, was placed into special measures in December 2017 after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) discovered a list of failings.

Inspectors found the service in breach of regulations with insufficient staffing levels, mismanagement of medicines and unsafe recruitment procedures.

Some residents were found to be socially isolated and disengaged and those nursed in bed had little access to engagement or activity.

Vinay Patel, managing director of KRG Healthcare which runs the home, admitted the damning report was 'extremely worrying'.

Determined to do better, the care home team set off on a '12-month journey' to change the organisation's culture.

Mr Patel said: 'Historically Lound Hall has always had a yo-yo reputation, swinging back and forth between good and inadequate.'

Sections of the management team were let go and new staff were brought in to signal the changing ethos of the care home.

It also began holding monthly meetings with relatives to discuss failings and improvements as well as receive immediate feedback.

And the latest CQC report, published in December 2018, found there had been 'significant improvements' at the 43-bed care home.

Inspectors said: 'People and their relatives told us they felt safe living in the service and that staff made them feel safe.

'Staff demonstrated a good understanding of keeping people safe in discussions with us.

'Risks to people were appropriately planned and managed. Medicines were stored, managed and administered safely.'

'Care planning now provided staff with the information they required to protect people from the risks of malnutrition or dehydration.'

The service is now rated good across the areas of safety, effectiveness, care, responsiveness and leadership.

Mr Patel added: 'It feels amazing; all the hard work that we put in last year has paid off.

'We have recreated that culture of trust between Lound Hall and the rest of the world.

'We are now on a mission to outstanding.'