The Care Quality Commission rates St Johns House, North Yorkshire, as Outstanding

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found the quality of care provided by St John’s House which is a care home (run by Clifton St. Anne's Personal Care Services Limited) in Kirk Hammerton, North Yorkshire to be outstanding following an inspection in March 2016.

St Johns House is registered to provide residential care to 36 older people and CQC inspectors inspected the service unannounced on 23 March 2016.

The service has been rated outstanding for being caring and well led and was rated good for being safe, effective, and responsive. St Johns House was rated ‘Outstanding’ overall. A full report of the inspection is available.

At this inspection we found a vibrant, happy and thriving community. There were strong and mutually respectful relationships that existed between the people living at the service and the staff team. When asked, people's feedback about the service was consistently high and people told us the care they received was, 'magnificent,' 'marvellous,' and, 'fantastic'. The overall impression from feedback from a variety of sources was that everyone thought people living at St Johns House were receiving the best possible care from an excellent staff team.

Emphasis was given to supporting people to lead an independent and fulfilling life, which the registered manager described to us as, 'Adding Life to Years', and encapsulated the beliefs and ideals of everyone working in the service. People living at the service could be as involved in decisions as much as they liked.

We heard for example that people actively participated in staff recruitment and with an election to get a rescue dog, chickens, and a garden swing seat. When we visited we found there was a stimulating, active environment with plenty of fun and laughter.

Confident, experienced managers successfully promoted the family values and people's wellbeing and happiness, which, they told us, lay at the heart of everything they did.

People confirmed they were consulted about their preferences including their food and drink choices. The chef met with people on a regular basis to ensure preferences were reflected on the menu. Meals were an enjoyable occasion, tables were attractively set and people could either sit in social groups they felt comfortable with or take their meals privately in their own rooms according to preference.

Themed days including special meals and celebration meals featured regularly on the menu. The service had its own minibus and people were also frequently offered the opportunity to eat out in local cafes and restaurants.

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.

“We found a vibrant, happy and thriving service, with great relationships between the staff and residents which helped to foster a real sense of community.

People were treated as individuals and the registered manager promoted a culture of listening to residents and acting on their feedback. The residents were given a real sense of ownership, and even actively participated in staff recruitment.

“The management are to be applauded for doing this. It is for this and many other reasons why the service has received the highest rating we can give and I congratulate them.”

Ends

For further information please contact CQC Regional Engagement Officer Kerri James on 07464 92 9966. Journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team here. Please note: the press office is unable to advise members of the public on health or social care matters. For general enquiries, please call 03000 61 61 61.