The Care Quality Commission rates Park House, Cleveland as Outstanding

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found the quality of care provided by Park House, Guisborough, Cleveland to be outstanding following an inspection in February 2016.

Park House which is run by Helen McArdle Care, provides care and accommodation to a maximum number of 56 older people, some of whom were living with a dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 54 people who used the service.

We inspected Park House on 17 February 2016. The inspection was unannounced which meant staff and the registered provider did not know that we would be visiting.

The service has been rated outstanding for being effective, responsive and well-led and was rated good for being safe, and caring. Park House was rated ‘Outstanding’ overall. A full report of the inspection is available at: www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-339866898.

The registered manager at Park House displayed exceptional leadership qualities, drive and enthusiasm. Without exception people, their relatives and professionals told us they experienced and we observed compassionate care from staff who strove for excellence. This ensured the service was run in the best interest of people who used the service.

We found a warm and welcoming atmosphere at Park House and people, staff and relatives had developed strong and mutually respectful relationships.

Staff displayed enthusiasm and pride in their work. The management team recognised potential and invested in their staff and this empowered staff to support the people who used the service effectively. People using the service were also involved in the recruitment process.

We saw that people were provided with a choice of nourishing food and drinks which helped to ensure that their nutritional needs were met. Nutritional screening had been used to identify specific risks to people’s nutrition and this helped staff to make sure people’s dietary needs were tailored to each individual. The registered provider had a genuine interest in developing and resourcing new ways to enhance and improve people's nutrition.

Innovative products were sourced to enable pureed food to be fortified, given texture and moulded to resemble the original shapes of meat and vegetables. This meant the dining experience for those people who needed a soft or pureed diet was greatly enhanced and their dignity maintained as they could use a knife and fork to eat, rather than a spoon.

We saw that staff had been creative in their introduction of social experiences for people; an example was a twilight dining experience, introduced at tea time on one of their units. A restful and tranquil atmosphere was created with background music and flameless candles. Staff minimised distractions to ensure people relaxed and were able to concentrate on the dining experience and people were content to sit at the table. The registered manager told us that since introducing this experience people’s appetites had increased resulting in better nutrition. Staff told us that because of the enormous success of this experience they were to introduce it to other units.

We also found that:

• Professionals who visited the service during the inspection told us the service was outstanding.
• People were supported and encouraged to have regular health checks and were accompanied by staff to hospital appointments.
• People and their families were at the centre of decision making whilst working alongside professionals to get the best outcome possible.
• People’s independence was actively encouraged. Activities were invigorating, outings and events were well thought through, varied and in plentiful supply.

Debbie Westhead, Deputy Chief Inspector for Adult Social Care in the North, said:

“This is a fantastic residential care service and there are many examples of outstanding practice that are clearly helping in delivering an excellent person-centred service.

“Feedback we received about the service was unswervingly high and we saw positive interactions between people and staff. Staff also treated people with dignity and respect, anticipating their needs.

“I was also extremely impressed with the 'three wishes campaign’ that the provider had implemented. People who used the service were asked to write down things they wanted to accomplish over the coming year. Staff then worked hard to make sure at least one of their wishes comes true.

“Park House is an amazing service and initiatives like the twilight dining experience and the ‘three wishes campaign’ show just how seriously staff and in particular the registered manager take people’s wellbeing. It’s for these reasons and more that we have rated this service as Outstanding.”

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