This comprehensive inspection took place on 5 and 8 October 2018. The first day of the inspection was unannounced. This meant that the provider and staff did not know we were coming. This was the first inspection of this service since it registered with The Care Quality Commission (CQC) in October 2017.

Hillside House is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Hillside House can accommodate up to 14 people in a newly refurbished building in East Devon, on the edge of the village of Newton Poppleford near the seaside town of Sidmouth. The home consists of two floors with a five-person passenger lift providing level access to each floor. There is a main communal lounge, dining area and small clusters of seating throughout the home where people could spend their time as they chose. To the rear of the house was a large decked veranda which people could easily access with views of the country side and provider’s smallholding.

At the time of this inspection there were 14 people using the service. Three of these people were staying at the service for a period of respite.

There was a registered manager who was also one of the directors of the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC 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 provided excellent strong leadership, was a brilliant role model for all staff and drove up excellent practice to provide people with opportunities. They were at the home most days and was very passionate about the service being people’s home. They had been the lead in designing the service and employing a high quality of dedicated staff to ensure they had the same ethos as they did. The registered manager said they had worked hard to get the right staff. Staff said there was a good team spirit at the service. The registered manager was supported by the other directors and family members and an HR facilities manager.

People, relatives and staff described the service in outstanding terms. Everybody without exception was full of praise of the registered manager and their staff team. They said they were marvellous, caring, approachable and always available if they wanted to talk with them.

People and visitors said they felt the care at the home was brilliant. Comments included, “This is a wonderful place to live, they are all so lovely and kind, I was lucky to find this home.” Health professionals were very happy with the care provided to their patients. One commented, “The standard of care is excellent.”

Staff worked as a team to create a better quality of life for people and ensured they were at the heart of everything at the service. They spoke with glowing pride about the people they cared for and as friends and family. They were very attentive and reassured people and ensured people were comfortable and had all they needed. They were intuitive to people’s specific needs and responded proactively to them.

People were supported to have a peaceful, comfortable and dignified end of life care. The registered manager and staff were committed to ensuring people experienced end of life care in an individualised way. There were numerous thank you messages from relatives regarding the good quality care people had received at the end of their lives at the service. In the garden there was a remembrance garden for people who had lived and passed away at the service.

People were cared for without discrimination and in a way, that respected their differences. This was a new service with a small team. Staff were familiar with people’s history and backgrounds a