The Julie Richardson Nursing Home

The service had an established reputation of being able to meet the needs of people who could be seen as presenting with very complex care needs. Professionals were extremely impressed with the care provided by the staff at The Julie Richardson Nursing Home. We received only exemplary feedback from external professionals, comments used included, "I wish every nursing home would be like this."

People had been offered personalised activities. The team excelled in creating opportunities for people to reduce social isolation and anxiety caused by for example, repetitive behaviours triggered by living with dementia. Staff explored people's life histories which aided having an excellent understanding of the reasons for people's behaviour. As a result, people were provided a carefully identified, personalised approach that enabled people to live a worry free and content life.

There was a positive, welcoming atmosphere and people benefitted from meaningful caring relationships with staff that had an in-depth understanding of people's needs. There was a strong commitment to providing excellent care that appreciated people, valued their life histories and build on their experiences. Staff excelled in providing one to one support that considered a person and their all senses, such as smell and sound. There were documented success stories how these therapies positively influenced people's sense of contentment.

The registered manager led their team by example. The registered manager was described by her team as a role model and someone they aspired to. The registered manager acted as an advocate for people living with dementia. They wrote to the local council with suggestions to make the local amenities more dementia friendly.

The registered manager remained extremely passionate about continuously improving the practice and they worked towards a degree with a well -known university that specialised in practices surrounding dementia. The registered manager encouraged and empowered staff to implement new projects that were

in line with the current good practice and had a positive impact on people. One of the new initiatives, 'A breath of fresh air' project had been successfully implemented. The project aimed at bringing people out to the local community. This included individual outings as well as a big, summer picnic when all people living at the service had been taken to the local park.

People benefitted from exceptional care as there was a dedicated, long standing staff team. The feedback from staff about both the registered manager and the provider showed there was a well embedded, caring and positive culture. There was an emphasis on empowering and motivating staff. Many staff members had been appointed as champions in various areas and it was clear the quality assurance was everyone's business.

The provider looked for ways to continuously improve the service and worked well with a number of external parties and partners. This included sharing lessons learnt and participating in local and national learning and networking opportunities.

The environment was bright, clean, fresh and welcoming. This included dementia friendly signage, thematic areas, such as photo wallpapers of local landmarks and a sensory room.

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.

People remained safe living at the service and there were always sufficient staff available to meet people's needs. This included when people had been assessed as requiring one to one approach. Risks to people's needs were assessed and the was information how these risks needed to be managed. Medicines were managed safely.