Devon Care Home Rated Outstanding in All Areas by CQC

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found the quality of care provided by a care home in Sidmouth, Devon, to be Outstanding in all categories following an inspection in March 2017.

Arcot House Residential Home is a 23 bed residential home for older people who are physically frail and require help with personal care, it does not provide nursing care.

Inspection Report Highlights 

• Staff treated patients as part of their extended family and knew them well.
• All patients were treated with the utmost dignity and respect.
• Training for staff went above and beyond the basic statutory requirements to provide holistic services and support to patients. Staff demonstrated a real enthusiasm to learn and had received excellent training including aromatherapy and nutrition courses to better support people.
• Each person had a trusted member of staff who took a lead role in each person's care and well-being. They continuously looked for ways to ensure people had positive experiences and led fulfilling lives. Staff knew about people's lives, their interests and talents and encouraged them to share them with others.
• The home supported people in creative ways to live life to the full and maintain their hobbies. People who used the service were encouraged to pursue new interests and learn new skills, for example, an artist worked with a group of people on painting landscapes and the home has supported people to paint on a regular basis.
• Staff also used innovative ways to promote improved health and well-being through good nutrition and hydration. A daily 'nutrition' and 'hydration' boost offered people a variety of food and drinks to try as a fun way to expand people's food and drink choices and try new flavours and textures. For example, Fizzy Friday' each involved trying a range of different juices and sparkling water 'cocktails.'
• Where people were on soft or pureed diet because of swallowing difficulties or choking risks, the service used food moulds to present each component of the person's meal in the shape of food it represented. For example, moulds in the shape of fish, chicken and carrot. This made the person's food more attractive and appetising and meant it was easier for them to identify what they were eating.

Deborah Ivanova, CQC's Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, said “Arcot House Residential Home demonstrated that people were consistently at the heart of the service. People living here were clearly seen as part of an extended family where staff know each person well, recognising their individual interests and what mattered to them. Care was provided by an innovative and committed team who looked after people with the utmost dignity and respect."

“To receive an Outstanding rating overall is a commendable achievement, but to gain an Outstanding rating in all five categories as well is exemplary and I would encourage other providers to read this report, to see what they can learn.”