About the service: Woodcroft is a care home that provides personal care for up to 50 people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of the inspection 43 people lived at the service. Most people lived there permanently, and some people spent short periods there to provide respite to their main carers.

People’s experience of using this service: The service provided outstanding care and emotional support to people living in the home. The registered manager and staff were exceptionally caring and encouraged people to do well in achieving their goals. Staff demonstrated a real empathy for the people they cared for. The service's visions and values promoted people's rights to make choices and live a dignified and fulfilled life, this was reflected in the care and support that people received.

There was a strong recognition that people were individuals and the care and support provided ensured their needs were met and resulted in positive and improved outcomes for people. People received a service that was extremely responsive and based upon a person-centred approach and best practice. They had achieved exceptional results and improved people's emotional and psychological wellbeing.

The registered manager and staff worked extremely hard to find ways to ensure people were engaged and stimulated. Activities were meaningful and people were provided with choice and opportunities dependent on their needs or interest.

The registered manager and staff worked in a way that put the needs of people first. Care plans were extremely informative and reflected people’s likes and dislikes in detail. The registered manager and staff knew every person they cared for in depth, what was important to them and the best way to provide care to them.

The registered manager displayed exceptional leadership qualities, drive and enthusiasm. They empowered staff to provide care that was tailored to individual's needs. Staff were highly motivated by the registered manager and showed pride in their work and the support they gave to people.

Without exception people, their relatives and professionals told us they experienced compassionate care from staff. This ensured the service was run in the best interest of people who used the service.

A comprehensive programme of audits and checks was in place to monitor all aspects of the service, including care delivery, accidents and incidents, health and safety, infection prevention and control and medicines. Audits resulted in clear action plans to address shortfalls or areas of improvement.

Rating at last inspection: The service had been rated Good at the last inspection in September 2016.

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection based on the previous rating of the service.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme.

The inspection took place on 7 September 2016 and was unannounced.

Woodcroft is a care home for 50 older people some of who are living with dementia. There were 46 people living at the home at the time of this inspection.

The home has a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The registered manager was not present at this inspection and the acting manager was the person in charge.

Some people who lived at Woodcroft were not able to share their views with us. However, we spoke with relatives involved with people's care and support who gave us positive and complimentary feedback about the service. They had no concerns about the care and support that people received.

People's relatives and professionals involved with their care and support considered that they were safe at Woodcroft. People had health, care and support plans in place to assist staff to understand how people liked their needs to be met. Risks to people's safety and welfare had been identified, recorded and support had been planned to enable people to live as safely as possible. People enjoyed a wide range of opportunities for engagement and stimulation.

There were sufficient numbers of staff available to meet people's care and support needs. Staff members understood their roles and responsibilities and were supported by the senior management to maintain and develop their skills and knowledge.

People enjoyed a varied, healthy diet. Their physical and mental health needs were well catered for. The atmosphere in the home was friendly and welcoming and there was a warm interaction between the staff and people who used the service. People were actively supported to maintain family relationships.

People were supported by their relatives but also had access to external advocacy services when needed to help them make decisions about matters in their daily lives. People's relatives were encouraged to be involved in developing their support plans and to visit at any time.

Staff promoted people's dignity and treated them with respect. The provider had arrangements to support people and their families to raise concerns. Unit meetings were held for people to discuss all aspects of the care and support provided at the home. The provider had systems to continuously check the quality of the service provided and strive for improvement. Staff were encouraged to develop their skills and knowledge and felt valued.

People shared their experience of the care and support they received. Comments included, "I am well looked after and the staff do everything they can for me. They are so cheerful, they help me do what I can for myself which is very respectful of my wishes".

People considered the staff met their current needs and felt assured that if they became unwell that staff would respond.

People believed staff were well trained to do their job and one person said, "They are very adept at understanding how to assist me". They thought that compassionate care was provided by staff.

People told us they were regularly asked if their service was satisfactory. They confirmed formal surveys were in place to gain their views about their care or how the service was run.

The provider had systems in place that enabled them to identify problems swiftly and act upon them to keep people safe at all times. Staff said they had the time and resources required to deliver high quality care. This meant that the service was well led.

We visited Woodcroft to check on the care and welfare of people living at the home.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people who used the service. Some people had complex needs which meant they were not able to tell us of their experiences. We used the Short observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spent half an hour in one of the lounges to carry out this short period of observation.

The general mood of people in the lounge at this time was calm and we observed staff interact with people in a relaxed and unhurried manner. Staff were seen to be kind and courteous.

We spoke with five people who used the service, three staff, a relative and the deputy manager.

People who used the service who spoke with us said that they were well looked after. They told us that the staff always asked them how they would like their care to be delivered, always respected their privacy and treated them with respect. People said they had care records and knew that staff made notes about their well being. No one raised any issues regarding privacy or freedom of visits from their supporters.

People who used the service told us that staff always came promptly when they needed help.

People said there was always enough staff on duty and they never felt rushed. They said that the staff were competent and always respectful towards them.

One person said, “I feel safe in the home and staff listen to any concerns I might have. I would make a complaint if I had one”. Staff spoke of their awareness of how to keep people safe from harm. The approach of staff provided an atmosphere in which people felt they could be themselves, including being open about their sexual orientation, if they wished. This provided people with dignity.

People who used the service spoke of being involved in how it was run. They said they could attend meetings and staff spoke to them about their care. People explained staff continued to help them access community events where possible. They considered this important as many residents had lived in the surrounding area.

We spent approximately five hours at the home, we used a range of evidence to make judgements about the home. This involved talking to fifteen people who live at Woodcroft, six staff who work at the home and visitor one including relatives and one health care professional. We were also shown some records that demonstrated to us how the home meets people’s needs which we refer to in this report.

Due to the needs of the people living at the home not everyone was able to share their experiences of what it’s like living at Woodcroft. We therefore spent time observing individuals being supported by the staff on duty at the time of our visit.

People told us that they enjoy living at Woodcroft and that they consider it to be their home.

We were told that,

“The food is very nice and we are offered a choice at meal times”

“My room is clean and comfortable. The linen is changed regularly”

“My family visit me whenever they want to, the staff always make them welcome”

Relatives were also complimentary about Woodcroft.

The Shropshire Local Involvement Network (LINk) - community involvement in care and health (CInCH) visited the home 22 October 2010. LINk is made up of individuals, community groups and voluntary organisations with an interest in improving health and social care services. They told us the home was “open and inviting with a feeling of calm.” “All areas were clean, well looked after and projected a high standard.”