'Outstanding' start for specialist dementia care home in Pannal

The Managing Director of a Harrogate care home for people living with dementia, has praised his staff after the Care Quality Commission rated the service as '˜outstanding'.
L-R; Jill Young, Operations Director, Vida Healthcare, Professor Martin Green, Chief Executive of Care England, James Rycroft, Managing Director, Vida Healthcare, Bernadette Mossman, Healthcare Director, Vida Healthcare, Chris Rycroft, Chairman, Vida Healthcare, Brian De Vere, Yorkshire Bank, Mark RycroftL-R; Jill Young, Operations Director, Vida Healthcare, Professor Martin Green, Chief Executive of Care England, James Rycroft, Managing Director, Vida Healthcare, Bernadette Mossman, Healthcare Director, Vida Healthcare, Chris Rycroft, Chairman, Vida Healthcare, Brian De Vere, Yorkshire Bank, Mark Rycroft
L-R; Jill Young, Operations Director, Vida Healthcare, Professor Martin Green, Chief Executive of Care England, James Rycroft, Managing Director, Vida Healthcare, Bernadette Mossman, Healthcare Director, Vida Healthcare, Chris Rycroft, Chairman, Vida Healthcare, Brian De Vere, Yorkshire Bank, Mark Rycroft

Vida Grange is a specialist dementia care complex with 124 beds, on Thirkill Road, Pannal.

The report follows the first official inspection of the service since it was registered in December 2016 and has rated the home as ‘outstanding’ for its care and effectiveness, and ‘good’ for its leadership, safety and responsiveness.

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James Rycroft, Managing Director at Vida Grange, said: “The report reads really well and it’s a really true reflection of the care we offer.

Vida Grange entrance.Vida Grange entrance.
Vida Grange entrance.

“It includes everything from the design of the environment, which is incredibly important for people living with dementia, right through to the staff and the lifeblood of the business that deliver that care.

“I think the biggest accolade we can get is the feedback from the residents and their families because the families are just as important as the residents.

“It’s up to us to hold their hands through this experience because its equally distressing for them to watch their relative go through it.”

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The ‘outstanding’ report has put Vida Grange in the top two per cent of care homes across the country.

Vida Grange entrance.Vida Grange entrance.
Vida Grange entrance.

In their report, the CQC Inspector wrote: “A relative described to us how isolated their family member could become due to their sensory loss and dementia.

“They told us they felt reassured that their family member lived at the service. They told us, “What you see today is what you get to see every day. If I am upset I get support. Staff are very proactive.”

The company employs a total of 350 staff members, with 200 based at Vida Grange and the other 150 based at Vida Hall, on Station View, Starbeck.

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Mr Rycroft said: “The CQC are now so focused on every aspect of care so to be rated as Outstanding is incredible.

“The staff are delighted because they are so focused on our ethos of care and they are so happy to be part of this journey.

“When we recruit people what we are looking for is kindness in our staff.”

He added: “Everyone was running round high-fiving each other. It’s difficult in our industry because if anything goes wrong it gets published in the media but its rare to hear when something goes right in a care home, so it’s really positive to get some great news out there and show there are some outstanding providers.

“I’m really pleased for everyone, every single member of staff has a part to play - we need every single one of them because we wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.”

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