A national care watchdog has given a Macclesfield care home its seal of approval, with relatives and residents praising its kind and compassionate team members.

The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) report gave Care UK’s Hollins Park, on Victoria Road, an overall ‘Outstanding’ rating, which is the highest possible result, following an unannounced inspection.

The care home received ‘Outstanding’ ratings for effectiveness, level of care, responsiveness and leadership, and a ‘Good’ rating for safety.

The team, relatives and residents told the CQC inspectors with genuine passion about the Hollins Park 'family' and the strong relationships built between residents, colleagues and relatives, and observed without exception that residents are treated with the utmost dignity and respect. Families feel their relatives are receiving outstanding care.

In addition, the report highlighted that Hollins Park is exceptionally well-led by a management team, whose determination and drive is to deliver an outstanding service.

Helena Dennett, head of adult social care inspection at the CQC, said: “Hollins Park was already providing a good level of care, however, since the last inspection they have improved in many areas and are now rated Outstanding overall.

“We heard how the service’s expertise and experience had transformed people’s lives. The staff and leadership teams clearly had passion and personal pride in the care they were delivering. We received consistently positive feedback about the service.

“There was some fantastic partnership working with external agencies and supporting staff with additional training, the management team were stable and had a clear vision of high-quality care. A fantastic achievement to be rated Outstanding.”

Commenting on the rating, Hollins Park home manager, Tracy Norbury, adds: “We are all absolutely delighted to be awarded an ‘Outstanding’ rating on our recent CQC inspection. Everyone here works incredibly hard to provide residents with compassionate, person-centred care, and I’m delighted that our efforts have been recognised.

“We are particularly passionate about developing strong local links, to ensure our residents feel valued members of the community, which we are thrilled the inspectors noted in their report.

“I’m extremely proud of everyone here, and would like to say thank you for their hard work and dedication, which I know is also greatly appreciated by residents and their families.”

The report commented that residents have access to an exceptional range of bespoke activities which enables them to live fulfilled and active lives. Team members endeavour to provide meaningful experiences and lasting happy memories for the residents at Hollins Park. For example, summerhouses have been developed into a pub, café and sweet shop to create a friendly 'village green' atmosphere, which residents and relatives greatly enjoy.

The inspectors noted that residents receive a service that is safe, and are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, with team members supporting them in the least restrictive way possible.

The report also remarked that residents receive personalised care from team members who know them well, and engage with them at every opportunity. Each resident has their life history recorded, and team members use this information to get to know residents and build positive relationships with them.

Inspectors praised the involvement of residents in adapting the service to meet their needs. For example, a sensory garden is being created, where residents are involved in the design, colour choices and creation of the garden, including visits to garden centres and DIY centres to select plants and paints.

In addition, the report commended the involvement of residents in the selection of new wall coverings of their choice, with the home manager commenting: "It does not matter if [the colours] match; it is what they have chosen that matters, and that they have been involved. It's their home".

It was noted that there was a strong emphasis on the importance of eating and drinking well, where residents are supported to maintain a balanced diet. It was observed that residents clearly enjoy their meals and eat well, with one resident saying: "The food is good in here and it's varied. There is a choice, we have a menu".

To assess service standards at Hollins Park, the CQC’s inspector spoke with team members, residents and their visiting relatives during the inspection. They also reviewed the records and procedures already in place at the care home.

For more information about Hollins Park, please call home manager, Tracy Norbury, on 0333 4343 042, or email tracy.norbury@careuk.com   

For general information, please visit www.careuk.com/hollins-park

Issued for & on behalf Care UK by WPR