A care home told major improvements were needed to its food hygiene is celebrating after a revisit brought a higher rating.

Bosses at Norton’s Primrose Court nursing home say they’ve now been given a four-star rating after a one-star score was slapped on the facility in May. The original report by Stockton Council warned the South Road home major improvements were required in how food safety was managed.

The inspection also found the home needed to improve the hygiene of its food handling and the cleanliness of its facilities.Officials insisted an action plan had been put in place and the kitchen staff had changed.

But compliance officer Fameeda Lennon told the Local Democracy Reporting Service how authority staff returned on Wednesday and found things had improved markedly. She was thrilled with the outcome and praised the kitchen manager.

Read more: Norton’s Primrose Court handed one star food hygiene rating

Ms Lennon said: “With the kitchen staffing being redesigned, and the manager working really hard toward the action plan, she’s put a lot of things in place to support the kitchen. She’s spent an awful lot of time on strict supervision in meal preparation when food is delivered and ordered.

“Cleaning inspections have been taking place three or four times a day. She’s really worked hard for the past couple of weeks to ensure things are good when the next visit comes.”

The home official also said there were plans in place to ensure standards didn’t slip – with regular meetings on what the home could do to improve. Inspectors are due to return in three months’ time.

Ms Lennon added they were “chasing a five star rating”. The Norton home is managed by Bharathi Panjadka and owned by Vinod Hukkeri – offering spaces for up to 54 people.

It has a “requires improvement” rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) at the moment after a report was published in September 2020 – although the home was rated “good” for its caring qualities. Stockton Council confirmed inspectors had visited the home but officials couldn’t confirm whether it had received a four-star rating until a 14-day appeal period had ended.

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