We inspected Vida Grange on 6 and 8 November 2017. The inspection was unannounced on the first day and we told the provider we would be visiting on the second day. This was the first inspection of the service since it was registered in December 2016.

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

Vida Grange can accommodate up to 124 people across eight units which are called houses. Each house has its own separate adapted facilities. When we visited five houses were open and 72 people used the service. Three of the units provided nursing care and two units provided residential care. The service provided support to older and younger people living with dementia.

The service had a registered manager in post. 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 provider’s vision included a commitment which stated, ‘Vida Grange will see each resident as unique and respect the perspective of each individual through the provision of life story work and adopting a person centred approach to our residents and within our team’. The provider had worked very hard to integrate their vision and ethos of care into every aspect of their work from recruitment, designing care with people and their families and using every opportunity to learn lessons and continually improve. This meant people received truly person centred care from staff who were extremely caring. Relatives described the service as distinctive from others their family members had used in relation to the person centred care people received.

People were treated with high levels of respect and afforded dignity. Staff provided excellent support to enable people to communicate which ensured people directed their own care and support. People told us staff were exceptionally kind towards them. People and their relatives told us they thought the care people received was of a very high standard.

The provider used good practice and innovation to ensure people living with dementia received an effective service. This meant people experienced a good quality of life and that the service had managed to support people to have good outcomes. Investment in the staff team with regards to their training and support meant they had the skills and knowledge to deliver expert care. Exceptional use of positive behavioural support techniques meant people experienced less distress and therefore had more positive feelings of wellbeing.

The environment was expertly designed to support people to be independent in their surroundings and this reduced the likelihood of distressed behaviour. The staff approach was to empower people to have choice and make their own decisions. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible, the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People had access to a wide variety of activities which they told us they thoroughly enjoyed. People were supported to develop and maintain friendships to prevent social isolation. Staff used information they gathered about people to develop meaningful relationships with them. All of this supported people to experience high levels of wellbeing.

People were supported very well to manage their health. People told us they found the food was of a great standard and this supported people to maintain good nutritional health. The service had excellent links with the healthcare professionals to maintain people’s health.

Staff understood how to ke