A CARE home has been rated 'good' across the board following an unannounced inspection.

The Care Quality Commission assessed the Alba Rose home in Pickering to see whether the service was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led, and found it to be good across all five areas.

As part of its inspection, the CQC spoke to staff, residents, relatives, partners and stakeholders.

The residential home provides personal care to up to 22 people, who are aged 65 and over, some of whom may be living with dementia.

It was supporting 13 people at the time of the inspection which found that residents received person-centred, responsive care.

Care plans and risk assessment were detailed and provided staff with information to maintain people's quality of life.

Some areas of improvement including frequency of supervisions, training and some maintenance checks had been identified by the provider, prior to the inspection.

The CQC report said the provider acted immediately, and an improvement plan was implemented by the new manager who had applied to register with the CQC.

"People were supported to remain safe. Staff knew how to report allegations and concerns of abuse and understood their roles clearly and what was expected of them," said the report.

"People's medicines were managed safely. Safe recruitment and selection processes were followed.

"People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice."

The inspectors said staff were kind and caring, and developed positive relationships with residents 'through meaningful conversations, activities and spending time with them to find out their diverse needs'.

The report noted: "Staff knew people and their needs well. We observed kind and positive interactions between staff and people.

"A relative told us, ‘It's a lovely place, absolutely lovely home. It's small and homely, not institutional.

"I am perfectly happy with [relative] being there; I would not want them anywhere else’.”

End of life care wishes were explored and recorded.

People and relatives knew who to contact with any complaints.

The inspector also looked at infection prevention and control measures to provide assurance that the service can respond to Covid-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Tanya Wormald, registered manager at the home in Middlegate Road, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have retained our 'good’ rating, particularly during what has been a really challenging two years for all care providers.

“This is a testament to the amazing staff we have at Alba Rose and the wonderful support we get from our lovely residents, their families and the local community.

“The challenge for us now is to maintain and build upon the standard we have set ourselves and keep improving the care we offer here at Alba Rose.”