This inspection took place on 8, 9 and 14 August 2018 and was unannounced.

Birkenhead Court is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. Care Quality Commission regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

This is the first inspection of this service under the management of Anchor Carehomes Limited, who registered with CQC to manage this service on 11 November 2017. We last inspected this service on 12April 2016 when it was managed by another provider

Birkenhead Court accommodates 60 people in one adapted building and provides care for people living with dementia. At the time of inspection there were 59 people living in the home. The home has three floors. Each bedroom is en-suite and the building has an additional four bathrooms and four shower rooms. There are four units over the first two floors, each has its own dining and kitchen area with the main kitchen on the top floor.

The home had an experienced and passionate registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People who lived in the home and their relatives spoke of the outstanding care delivery. They told us that the provider and staff of the home went above and beyond what they expected good care to be, to ensure they received a person-centred service. We saw that interactions between staff and people who used the service were caring and respectful with staff showing patience, kindness and compassion. We observed that staff knew and understood the people they cared for and ensured that people were provided with choices in all aspects of daily life. It was very clear they respected each person's rights and treated them as individuals. Care plans and risk assessments were person-centred and they detailed how people wished and needed to be cared for. They were regularly reviewed and updated as required. We observed a strongly family-orientated service.

Everyone working in the organisation recognised and had access to excellent training that contributed to the outstanding care being delivered. We observed all staff to be skilled in offering help and support to increase the quality of life and promote positive experiences. The registered manager and staff members had started a charity for those people who need support due to either having dementia or being related to someone who has dementia. The excellent support given included how to face the emotional and mental stresses of having dementia and understanding the care and support available.

The registered manager and staff had excelled at providing an environment that was pleasurable for people living with dementia. We saw innovative and forward thinking practices so that the environment was stimulating and comfortable for people living in the home.

We saw evidence of a co-ordinated approach to care delivery with other organisations. This meant that the care being delivered was person-centred and specific to each individual ling in Birkenhead Court. We also saw how individual passions such piano playing was catered for.

Both the registered manager and district manager had strong values relating to the quality of the care being delivered the registered manager told us that all staff of the home acted with integrity and ensured they did not compromise on making sure they did the right thing for people who used the service. This was evident throughout the course of the inspection.

Care records contained detailed information to give staff an exceptional understanding of activities people enjoyed and to improve their social engagement and we saw how this was sup