STAFF and residents at Lostock Lodge Care Home are celebrating after their rating was upgraded from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’ following an inspection.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated the home, which provides long-term residential and respite care for up to 66 residents in Lostock Gralam, as ‘good’ across its five key assessment areas of safety, effectiveness, caring, responsiveness and leadership.

Helen Richmond, operations director at the home on Lostock Avenue, was pleased the report highlighted the home's vision of putting people at the centre of its service.

She said: “We have a lovely homely atmosphere here at Lostock Lodge. Staff go above and beyond every day to ensure people feel well cared for and retain their independence.”

In a report, inspectors said: "There were effective systems in place to monitor the safety and quality of service being provided.

"The home was well-maintained, clean and safe for the people living there. There were enough staff available to meet people's needs and we observed staff responded quickly to call bells and people asking for help were being attended to promptly.

"Throughout our inspection we found the home was clean and free from unpleasant odours.

"Staff ensured people and their relatives were involved in making decisions about their care and people told us staff listened to them."

Alykhan Kachra, managing director of Country Court Care – the company that runs the home – added: “Our team at Lostock Lodge puts our residents’ health and wellbeing at the heart of everything they do every day, we are delighted that this is reflected in the report findings.”

The report said the culture of the service was caring and focused on ensuring people received person-centred care that met their needs in a timely way.

One relative told inspectors: “The service is excellent with care at the very forefront”, while another noted “It is noticeable here that no one is forgotten about, all credit to the staff.”

Inspectors also said positive and caring relationships had been made between residents and staff and found people were happy living at Lostock Lodge, with one person stating it was ‘just like a five-star hotel’.

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Residents were able to take part in a wide range of group activities including exercise classes, singing and dancing.

Films were shown in a cinema and trips to garden centres and concerts were organised.

Entertainers, community groups, pre-school children and teenagers visit the home.

A nail and hairdressing salon is available in the home.

Views are now being sought on a gym which people do not use to see if residents would prefer it to be changed into a shop or a pub.