Alnwick care home rating improves under new ownership

An Alnwick care home has raised its standards across the board since being purchased by a leading North East nursing and residential care provider.
Hillcrest Care Home, Alnwick.Hillcrest Care Home, Alnwick.
Hillcrest Care Home, Alnwick.

Prestwick Care, a division of Malhotra Group Plc, acquired Hillcrest Care Home, off South Road, last year, with a promise to make improvements across all areas of the 50-bed home.

Less than 12 months later, the company’s efforts have been recognised by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which has upgraded Hillcrest’s rating to ‘good’.

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It is also rated ‘good’ across all sub-categories of being safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

Bunty Malhotra, chief executive at Prestwick Care.Bunty Malhotra, chief executive at Prestwick Care.
Bunty Malhotra, chief executive at Prestwick Care.

At the last inspection, safety and leadership were judged to ‘require improvement’.

Built in the 1800s as a family home for a wealthy brewing family and later serving as a maternity hospital, Hillcrest offers nursing, residential dementia and respite care.

The new rating brings Hillcrest in line with the rest of Prestwick Care’s portfolio of care homes, all of which are rated ‘good’ by the CQC.

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Bunty Malhotra, CEO at Prestwick Care, said the rating reflected the company’s significant investment and commitment in Hillcrest following its acquisition in February 2019.

“We are delighted with the CQC’s latest inspection report, which reflects the hard work and care the management and staff have put in to improve the quality of life for our residents,” he said.

Prestwick Care’s portfolio comprises 13 homes across the North East.

New purpose-built care facilities are scheduled to open at Ryhope, Sunderland, this year and at Whitley Bay in 2021.

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The company is also set to unveil a second Alnwick home in the spring.

Beech Tree House, at Lisburn Street, will be a state-of-the-art, 86-bed care home, offering general residential and nursing, dementia residential and nursing, along with specialist care provision for bariatric and young physically disabled clients.

“We are really pleased to have made a good impression in the community with our first Alnwick home,” said Mr Malhotra.

“And we are committed to ensuring that Beech Tree House builds on that impression by also delivering an extremely high quality of care service to its residents.”The company has also sponsored Alnwick’s Christmas lights display, putting up an initial £7,000 with further annual payments of £5,000 until 2023 at least.

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