STAFF at a Forest care home were described by inspectors as “kind and caring” with people’s best interests “always being met” 

They were among the factors that led Castleford House in Tutshill being given a grading of ‘outstanding’ by the inspectors 

Castleford House is the first of the nine homes in the Milkwood Group to receive the top grading by the Care Quality Commission. 

A team of inspectors made an unannounced visit to Castleford – which provides care for around 40 people – in April this year. 

The inspectors concluded: “The service was outstanding in how it provided highly personalised care and support to people with complex needs, sometimes under challenging circumstances.  

“The service succeeded in doing this where other care settings had failed. 

There was a truly holistic approach to assessing and planning people’s care and treatment.  

“There was a strong emphasis on working collaboratively with the person, their representatives, other professionals and agencies to support people’s challenging needs. 

Staff were particularly skilled in obtaining people’s consent and involving and supporting people in decisions about their care and treatment, even when disability and other impairments made this extremely difficult.  

“People’s best interests were always met.” 

The inspectors found staff were “exceptionally skilled” at finding ways of alleviating people’s distress. 

“Staff were kind and caring towards people. Trusting relationships were formed which enabled staff to deliver people’s care safely and without distress.” 

They said staff received on-going training to understand complex needs and they were proud of their work and the service at Castleford. 

They also praised the way in which families were given information about their relatives conditions. 

“This enabled staff to work collaboratively and positively with people’s representatives, to improve people’s wellbeing and quality of life.” 

The leadership of manager Ben Miller was also praised by the inspectors. 

Mr Miller said: “We are delighted to receive a grading of outstanding – it is testament to the hard work of everyone at Castleford. 

“We are also very pleased to be the first in the Milkwood Group to be assessed as outstanding.”