Specialist dementia care home wins CQC praise

Valley Wood Residential Care Home, in Cat Lane, Heeley, is the first specialist dementia care home operated by Sheffcare, the charity operating in Sheffield and serving the needs of more than 500 older people, through its nine properties across the city.

And when inspectors from the CQC, the independent regulator of all health and social care services in England, visited Valley Wood for the first time, they rated services good in all five main areas - safety, effectiveness, caring, responsiveness and leadership.

During their visit, the inspectors spoke with seven residents and 20 relatives about their experience of the care provided.

They also spoke to members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, activities coordinator, team leaders, care staff and kitchen staff.

Their report noted that residents were supported by staff and that staff members had a good understanding of people's care needs, their personalities, and preferences.

“We observed staff interacting with people and allowing people time to communicate their needs,” the report said.

“People were treated well by staff, who were kind and patient with them and one person told us: ‘They always go out of their way to help you. The staff are kind and really good.’”

The inspectors also noted that staff supported people to express their views and be involved in making decisions about their care and that there were effective systems in place to support people and their relatives to make decisions about care and express their views.

An assessment and care planning process also supported people to be involved in decisions about how and when they were supported by staff, while support and activities were based around people's preferences.

“There was a positive culture at the service where staff provided personalised care and promoted people's individuality and the registered manager knew people well and was a visible presence within the service,” the inspectors commented.

“People, relatives, and staff predominantly felt involved and listened to and they knew the management team well and had confidence to raise any concerns and felt they would be appropriately addressed.”

Sheffcare chief executive Claire Rintoul commented: “This was the first visit by the CQC to Valley Wood so we are delighted that they were so impressed at every level of operation.

“As with every home in the Sheffcare family, the Valley Wood team are both dedicated and enthusiastic about the work they do and that is clearly what the inspectors picked up on.

“To receive such a high level of praise is a genuine validation of the hard work our staff are doing on a daily basis to ensure that all residents at Valley Wood enjoy the best possible quality of life.”