This inspection took place on 21 and 22 February 2017 and was unannounced. Burlington Court provides accommodation for people who require nursing or personal care for up to 102 people. At the time of our inspection there were 96 people living in the home.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of this inspection. 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.

The registered manager was a role model for staff within the home and inspired care staff to provide truly person centred care. There was a consistent, clearly articulated positive culture of valuing people as individuals that was evident throughout the home. This culture impacted positively upon people’s experience of living at Burlington Court and ensured that people experienced consistently outstanding care. There was a strong system of quality assurance and the views of people living at Burlington Court were actively sought to continue to develop the service.

People living at Burlington Court had an enhanced sense of well-being and quality of life because staff worked passionately to provide people with meaningful experiences. Staff were empowered to work creatively and to develop positive therapeutic relationships with people. There was a meaningful programme of activities that met people’s individual needs. People living with dementia received care that was based upon best practice guidelines that met their individual needs and successfully reduced instances of incidents within the home.

People were at the heart of the service and staff were committed to enabling people to live full, varied and fulfilled lives. People were supported in creative way to continue to achieve their aspirations and continued to have new experiences. Staff were motivated to find innovative ways to remove barriers for people to achieve their aims.

Staff demonstrated the providers values of offering person centred care that respected people as individuals in all of their interactions with people. People told us that they felt valued by staff, that staff took a genuine interest in getting to know them as people and that they felt they mattered. Staff knew people well and used their knowledge of people’s lives to tailor the care and support that they provided. People, their relatives and the professionals involved in people’s care consistently told us that the service was exceptionally caring.

There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs and staff were not rushed in their interactions with people. Staff knew people well and engaged positively with people consistently enhancing their sense of well-being. People were supported to maintain their safety and effective plans of care were implemented to mitigate the risks to people. People could be assured that they would receive their prescribed medicines safely.

People were safeguarded from harm as the provider had effective systems in place to prevent, recognise and report concerns to the relevant authorities. Staff knew how to recognise harm and were knowledgeable about the steps they should take if they were concerned that someone may be at risk.

People’s health and well-being was monitored by staff and they were supported to access health professionals in a timely manner when they needed to. People were supported to have sufficient amounts to eat and drink to maintain a balanced diet.