A DARLINGTON care home has been rated as 'good' following an inspection.

Grosvenor Park Care Home, in the Firthmoor area, provides care for people with dementia, physical disabilities and adults over 65 years.

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission turned up unannounced to carry out the inspection at the home, which can house up to 61 people.

It retained its 'good' rating from its last inspection two and a half years ago.

Inspectors said: "People, relatives and staff told us the service was a safe place.

"People spoke positively about the staff...describing them as kind and caring. Staff treated people with dignity and respect. Staff knew the people they were supporting well.

"People were at the core of the service and included in all discussions. They were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible."

The home, in Burnside Road, was in the process of improving care records as managers had recognised that the current documentation did not give staff enough information or guidance about people's needs.

Inspectors added: "People were protected from the risk of abuse because staff understood how to identify and report it. Accidents and incidents were analysed to identify trends and reduce risks."

It also praised the numbers of staff, as well as the 'varied and nutritional diet' which included home-made food and drinks adapted for different diets.

The home, operated by Four Seasons Health Care, needed to improve its dementia unit and work to ensure the environment fully met patients' needs.

Four Seasons said Grosvenor Park had achieved top line customer satisfaction ratings, averaging about 99 percent, during recent months in feedback from residents, relatives and visiting care professionals. It is also rated as 9.5 out of a possible 10 on leading independent review site carehome.co.uk

The inspectors said that people they spoke with were complimentary about the service. One resident summed it up as: “It is a brilliant home and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

The team members at Grosvenor Park have also completed a programme to gain accreditation to provide a new generation of dementia care, using purpose-designed technology to support care teams to create and update an audit of each resident’s physical, psychological and emotional condition.