Birch Park Care Home

Updated 28 February 2025

Date of Assessment: 12 March 2025 to 31 March 2025. The service is a care home providing support to adults, some of whom are living with dementia or have nursing needs.

People received exceptionally good care from highly skilled staff who were very responsive to their individualised care needs which staff had identified through comprehensive assessment to plan the right care for them. Care was based on excellent practice and reflected national guidelines. The provider had an open culture responsive to learning lessons, and a very strong focus on driving quality and improving people’s experience of care. Staff were well trained and received regular support and development from leaders. The environment was conducive to delivering high quality care, with personalised and adapted facilities and aids for people.

Care at the service was extraordinary. People were respected and valued as individuals. People's wellbeing was improved by unique person-centred activity planning developed with remarkable attention to detail around their needs and preferences. There was an outstandingly flexible approach, and people were directly involved in planning and reviewing their care.

The provider had excellent systems and processes to ensure people, relatives and staff were able to provide feedback on their care and service provided. The end-of-life care provision was extremely compassionate, considerate and empathetic.

The provider had effective governance systems and processes in place to ensure the registered manager was able to effectively audit the service and drive improvement in service delivery. Innovative and creative ways of learning lessons from the wider provider group were evident, with clear involvement of other professionals contributing to effective partnership working.

There were some shortfalls in the consistency of records kept relating to the administration of medication. Despite this, we found no harm had occurred to people and we were assured people received their medication safely as needed. The registered manager was responsive to the findings of the inspection and had already taken action to learn lessons and implement robust checks on the medication records.

Updated 28 February 2025

The outcomes for people receiving care and support were exceptional and we received extremely positive feedback from people and relatives about the care provided. We were told they felt safe and were fully involved in the planning of their care. Relatives and people gave us several examples where the provider had taken steps to go above and beyond to ensure people were involved in activities that were meaningful for them. Relatives told us they thought the home was maintained to a high standard, with a good range of activities, and people felt staff delivered the care and support they required. One person told us, “I love it here, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. It’s a ten out of ten from me. The staff are so helpful and kind.”

Everyone we spoke with told us they felt the service had enough staff and that they were cared for by a consistent and highly skilled workforce. People and relatives knew about their care plan and felt they could contribute to changes and raise concerns if they needed. Several people described how staff treated them kindly and maintained their privacy and dignity during personal care tasks. People knew how to raise concerns or make suggestions for improvement, and it was evident people and relatives knew the leaders well.

The feedback received from people and relatives was overwhelmingly positive. One relative told us, “From the moment we stepped foot in Birch Park, the care, love and support provided to [relative] has been exceptional. I can honestly say that Birch Park is one of the best homes I have ever been in.”