Staff and residents at a Buckinghamshire care home are planning a celebration after receiving an Outstanding rating from the CQC.

Westgate Healthcare’s Byron House Care Home in Aylesbury achieved Outstanding in three out of five categories following an inspection in November.

Home manager and qualified registered nurse Kyla Darling said: “Our team are such amazing people and deliver the best care to our residents. I want to shout that from the rooftops.

“It is a lovely recognition for us in such a difficult time in social care and gives the team the validation they so deserve, working the way they do day to day but especially during the pandemic. They all go the ‘extra mile’ to ensure our residents are safe and happy.”

The CQC report acknowledged the home’s recruitment process which is ‘values based’ and favours people who display empathy, kindness, and strong teamwork skills over experience. Furthermore, training for team members was described as “high quality” and containing an emphasis on person centred care.

The report states: “There was a warm, welcoming atmosphere promoted by caring, compassionate staff. All staff despite their roles, were trained to care. For example, domestic and maintenance staff knew people well and were trained to support people with care needs.”

Further credit was given to team members for their ability to “excel” when dealing with a person in distress by using distraction techniques and the inspectors felt that the team went that “extra mile” to provide residents with social activities they could complete safely.

Credit was given to Byron House for its research which has helped improve its services, with its dining service being used as an example of something which has improved based on residents’ comments.

Deborah Christian, chief operating officer at Westgate Healthcare, said: “On behalf of the directors and all of us at Westgate Healthcare, we congratulate and thank the team at Byron House Care Home for their commitment and dedication to the residents in their care. They should be so proud of the work they do, from the level of care provided, to the compassion and homely atmosphere created.”

Byron House Care Home team members, families, residents and stakeholders will be celebrating with a black tie evening event on Friday 10 March at Waddesdon Hall.