This inspection took place on 12 December 2016. Green Tree Court is registered to provide accommodation for 68 people who require nursing and personal care. The welcome brochure describes the home as “built to the highest environmental standard offering luxurious surroundings and beautiful fully landscaped gardens”. No expense has been spared to ensure care, facilities and the environment are of the highest standard for the people living there. There are three wings, Larch, Maple and Willow. Willow wing is designated for people living with dementia. At the time we visited, 44 people lived at the home, seven receiving respite care.

The service was registered with CQC in November 2014 and has not been inspected previously. Since registration, the service was increasing numbers to capacity in a managed, measured way to ensure people’s individual needs could be met.

There was a registered manager and two heads of care employed at the home who were clearly passionate about providing a high quality, individualised service. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People had access to and were involved in developing personalised activities that complemented their individual hobbies and interests. Links with the local community had been established and people were supported to participate in community events and other events that were important and meaningful to them. For example, through the service partnership with the Exeter Dementia Action Alliance, foreign exchange students and local primary and secondary schools. This provided people with a sense of purpose and wellbeing. Some people used the service as respite for short periods before returning home to the community. This had become popular with people who used the home as a stepping stone following hospital procedures or to enable carers to have a break.

People and relatives were overwhelmingly positive about the care and service provided. The overall view was that the service was like a ‘caring holiday’. Comments included, “It’s like being on a cruise, so enjoyable”, “I can walk away knowing I couldn’t do better, it’s lovely to see the manager work so well with her team” and “There are high standards all the time, people are treated as people.” Reviews on the website included, “It is like a 5 star hotel, the service we have had has been faultless. Being a new building, the rooms are large and purpose built. Everything is fresh, airy and spotlessly clean”, “The home is excellent” and “I feel Green Tree [Court] is a luxury care home of very high standards, and I have been very impressed with the care received.” All reviews showed a five out of five star rating and people were ‘extremely likely’ to recommend the service.

People were supported by very kind, caring and compassionate staff who often went the extra mile to provide people with good, high quality care. This high standard of care enhanced people's quality of life and wellbeing. The staff as a whole, supported by the activities team, were extremely passionate about providing people with support that was based on their individual needs, goals and aspirations. They were pro-active in ensuring care was based on people's preferences and interests, seeking out activities in the wider community and helping people live a fulfilled life, individually and in groups.

The staff were happy working in the home and felt very supported in their role. They were clear about their individual roles and responsibilities and felt valued by the registered manager, heads of care and the wider provider, senior management team. Good leadership was demonstrated at all levels with pro-active effort to encourage ideas from staff to further benefit th