Aylesbury care home receives outstanding rating after surprise inspection

A care home in Aylesbury was rated as outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) at an unannounced inspection.

Out of five key categories Byron House Care Home was graded as an outstanding institution in three and received the second highest mark of good in the other two fields.

The home was considered outstanding in the caring, responsive and well-led brackets, and good for how safe and effective it is.

CQC classifies outstanding care homes as services that are performing exceptionally well, a good grade represents an area which is meeting inspectors’ standards.

Home manager Kyla Darling told The Bucks Herald: “My staff are such amazing people and deliver the best care to the residents.

"I want to shout that from the rooftops.

"It is a lovely result for us in such a difficult time in social care and gives the care staff the validation they so deserve working the way they do day to day but especially during a pandemic. We are also very happy to be the only home in Aylesbury with this rating!”

The report acknowledged the home’s recruitment process which favours people who display empathy, kindness, and strong teamwork skills over experience.

Training for staff members was described as “high quality” and containing an emphasis on person centred care.

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.

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.”

It goes on to highlight how strong the relationship is between staff and the people they serve.

Further credit was given to staff members for their ability to “excel” when dealing with a person in distress by using distraction techniques.

Inspectors felt staff went that “extra mile” to provide residents with social activities they could complete safely.

This was achieved by evaluating things people had participated in previously to check if they were safe.

The report can be viewed in full here.