A Cambridgeshire care home which is under a council embargo has been rated Good in all categories by the CQC.

HC-One’s The Gables near Peterborough was one of three care homes placed under embargo by Cambridgeshire County Council last year when the local authority cancelled a £64 million block contract with the provider following the closure of The Elms care home in Whittlesey.

Cambridgeshire County Council announced a 12-month extension to the embargo during an inquest into the death of three residents at The Elms last month.

In its latest inspection of The Gables published on 12 April the care home was upgraded from Requires Improvement in all categories to Good in all categories.

The CQC said The Gables was an “organised and well run service that had an open and transparent culture”, adding: “The registered manager was clear about how the service should be provided and they led by example. Staff knew how to keep people safe from harm. The provider had systems in place to protect people from the risk of abuse and people told us they felt safe. Risk assessments were completed to help identify and minimise risks people faced.

“Staff were caring and treated people with kindness and respect. There was enough staff on duty to meet people’s needs. Incidents and accidents were managed safely, the managers took necessary actions to keep people safe and minimise the risk of incidents reoccurring.”

A spokesperson for HC-One said: “Our priority has always been the wellbeing of our residents, and we have worked closely with the independent regulators to ensure we are putting in place the steps needed to provide the best possible care at The Gables. We are therefore pleased to have received a rating of Good in all areas at the CQC’s recent inspection, and to read the overwhelmingly positive feedback from our residents and their loved ones who spoke with inspectors at their most recent visit.

“The CQC’s latest report has commended the home for its effective approach to quality, staffing, and risk monitoring and management, noting that residents and their relatives feel ‘comfortable’ and ‘reassured’. The CQC inspectors also acknowledged our ongoing ‘commitment to continuous development’ and the measures we have in place to ‘drive additional improvements’.

“We have previously acknowledged the challenges we have faced in the Cambridgeshire area, and hope that this report can offer some reassurance to the Cambridgeshire community that the model we have in place to address local issues is working, and that we can move forward in a positive way to deliver a consistently high-quality, supportive service.

“We are grateful to our hard working, kind care colleagues for their work to embed the improved processes and additional training put in place by our new senior management team. We remain committed to sustaining the improvements made, and working together to further demonstrate our commitment to high-quality, kind care.”

Cambridgeshire County Council said it was aware of the CQC inspection outcome when it extended its embargo, adding: “It does not change our decision as we are seeking evidence of sustained longer-term improvements.”