The Royal Star & Garter Homes - Solihull

The attention to people's individual wishes and needs showed how exceptional staff were at going above and beyond what was expected of them. The service had won several awards and had been recognised for their outstanding commitment to making a positive difference to people's lives since our last inspection.

The service was an excellent role model for others and was led by a passionate management team which had been strengthened since our last inspection to further improve outcomes. Excellent governance systems were embedded and had been further improved since our last inspection.

There was a coordinated and personalised approach to support people to move into the service. People's needs were under constant review to ensure they continued to be met. The service was extremely committed to working in partnership with health professionals to maintain people's health and wellbeing.

People and relatives continued to feel involved in care planning and people were involved in important decisions. People mattered and promoting people's dignity was at the heart of everything staff did. People's independence was promoted and people's right to privacy was respected.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff knew what was important to people and care records contained very personalised and up to date information including people's life histories which helped staff to provide excellent person-centred care. People continued to receive excellent, coordinated end of life care and people continued to be treated with respect after their death.

People's needs were consistently met by a highly skilled and dedicated staff team. People, relatives and health professionals without exception were all extremely complimentary about the staff and a culture of

continuous staff learning was embedded.

People eating and drinking enough to maintain their health was of paramount importance and people told us they thoroughly enjoyed the food and mealtime experiences. There was a creative approach to encourage people to try food from different cultures.

The service had a very proactive approach to managing risk and staff had an excellent understanding of how to manage and reduce risk. People felt very safe and the inclusive culture meant people's views were well captured and people felt comfortable to speak openly about their feelings.

The provider's safeguarding procedures and personalised approach protected people from harm. Staff knew what to do and who to tell if they had concerns about the well-being of anyone using the service.

Staff were recruited safely. During our visits enough staff were on duty to respond to people's needs to maintain their safety. Medicines management continued to be safe. People's medicines were administered by registered nurses and trained care staff. Their competency to do so was regularly checked by managers.

The service was exceptionally clean and well maintained. People had been involved in initiatives to minimise the risk of infections spreading.

Strong emphasis was placed upon continuous improvement and learning lessons based on research and reflective practice. The whole staff team understood their responsibility to be open and honest when things went wrong. Lessons had been learnt and had been shared throughout the organisation to benefit people and staff. People told us they had no need to complain and they felt confident if they did raise concern it would be investigated and resolved.

The service played an important role in their local community that enhanced people's lives. People were supported to maintain links with people who were important to them. Strong and meaningful links were established with local and national organisations.