Two Northamptonshire care homes rated Outstanding by watchdog

Stone Cottage and Farm Cottage in Towcester, owned by William Blake House Northants, provide support for people with complex learning disabilities.

In a recent report, inspectors found the staff were caring and compassionate and people were being provided with safe, responsive, caring, effective and well-led care.

Andrea Sutcliffe chief inspector of Adult Social Care said: “The quality of care, which our inspectors found here was exceptional and I am very pleased that we can celebrate the service’s achievements.

“An outstanding service is the result of a tremendous amount of hard work and commitment. I would like to thank and congratulate everyone involved.”

Under CQC’s programme of inspections, all adult social care services are being given a rating according to whether they are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

Both Stone Cottage and Farm Cottage are rated Outstanding overall - they are both rated as Outstanding based on their services being well-led and responsive, and rated Good for whether their services are safe, effective and caring.

Rob Assall-Marsden, CQC’s Head of Inspection for Adult Social Care in the central region said: “Our inspection team were extremely impressed by the level of care and support offered to people at both Farm Cottage and Stone Cottage, which we found gave them an enhanced sense of the quality of life and well-being.

“We found both homes provided person-centred care that respected the unique qualities of each person. People and their relatives were very involved in decisions regarding their care and support needs and the support people received were flexible and responsive to their needs and preferences.

“People were encouraged and supported to regularly engage with events outside of the service. People using the service and families were actively encouraged to give their views and raise any concerns or complaints.

“Feedback was valued and responses to matters raised were dealt with in an open, transparent and honest way. At both homes, inspectors noted that healthy eating using some homegrown organic produce was integral to promoting people's good health and overall well-being. All of this meant people received a high standard of care, which is why it has been rated Outstanding.”