Care home praised by CQC for going 'extra mile'

The inspection was the watchdog's first at the care home and was carried out as part of its continual checks on safety and quality

Staff at an "outstanding" West Yorkshire care home have been praised by a watchdog for going "the extra mile" to look after its residents.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors inspected Birch Park Care Home, Cleckheaton, in March.

In its subsequent report, the CQC commended the home's "impressive" number of daily activities available to residents and praised design elements including its dementia friendly signage and floor layout.

Jackie Foxton, Birch Park manager, said she was "delighted" the efforts of the care home team had been "officially recognised".

"I'm so proud of the entire team on receiving this fantastic outstanding CQC rating," she said.

"We put our residents at the heart of everything we do".

Communication was also praised for being very effective when people moved into the service

The care home provides accommodation for older adults, including those living with dementia.

An "outstanding" care home is one that is "performing exceptionally well", the CQC said, with only about 3.5% of homes in England reaching this rating.

Linda Hirst, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said feedback about Birch Park was "overwhelmingly positive", with one relative calling it "the best home they'd ever been in".

Ms Hirst said inspectors were impressed by staff facilitating anniversary meals for couples who were physically separated due to care needs and the way staff "built up strong bonds" with people.

"All staff should be extremely proud of the care they're providing to people," she said.

"They clearly work hard to provide exceptional care and other homes should look at this report to see if there's anything they can learn."

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