Whitegates

Whitegates is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Whitegates accommodates up to 37 people within a large adapted building, and specialises in care for older people with physical disabilities and mental health needs, who may be living with dementia. At the time of our inspection, 35 people were living at the home.

A registered manager was in post and present during our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.

At the time of our last inspection in September 2015, we rated Whitegates as Good. At this inspection we found the provider had driven further improvements and the service people received was Outstanding.

People living at Whitegates benefited from the strong person-centred culture within the service. The provider took a genuine interest in people's personal history, skills, interests and aspirations. Armed with this knowledge, they recommended new ideas and opportunities to people, and went the extra mile in supporting them to achieve things which enhanced their quality of life. They consulted with people and their relatives to ensure they felt listened to and valued. The provider forged and maintained strong links within the local community to enhance the support, opportunities and experiences available to people living at the home.

The provider demonstrated a clear commitment to the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion within the service. They accessed best practice resources and developed bespoke training to enhance staff's understanding of, and ability to meet, people's needs associated with their equality characteristics. The provider's own systems, policies and procedures had been updated to ensure they were able to fully meet the needs of older LGBT people.

The health outcomes for people living at Whitegates had been enhanced, and unnecessary or recurring hospital admissions avoided, through the provider acting proactively in collaboration with local healthcare services. Their 'early warning sign system' and the associated efforts to improve the level of clinical expertise amongst the staff team enabled them to better monitor and respond to any deterioration in people's health. This was achieved with the support of a range of community healthcare professionals and the provider's in- house multidisciplinary team.

A firm focus was placed upon people eating and drinking well, and the promotion of health and wellbeing through good nutrition and hydration. The provider had organised a range of events during their 'awareness

month' on nutrition to generate new thinking and improve practice in this area of people's care and support.

People felt safe living at Whitegates with the support of friendly, caring and approachable staff and management who were passionate in their desire to enable people to live full, vibrant lives. The provider's robust quality assurance systems and processes enabled them to monitor and drive improvement in the quality and safety of the care and support people received.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found