A BRAMLEY residential care home is celebrating after achieving an “outstanding” grade from health inspectors the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Applewood Care Home, in Coopers Lane, was inspected by the CQC between May 4 and 5 when it achieved the rating in three of the five categories.

The care home provides residential care for up to 39 elderly people living with a range of medical conditions, including diabetes, Alzheimer’s and dementia.

In the CQC’s inspector’s report, Applewood was praised for its “creative, proactive and innovative ways of developing staff that enabled them to apply their learning in their practice.”

The report continued: “The provider and staff were motivated to ensure that people were provided with the opportunity to participate in daily activities and homely tasks to retain their independence.

"Staff used their positive relationships with people to encourage participation in meal times in order to improve their health and well-being.

“Staff had a well-developed understanding of people and built a level of trust with them which enabled them to provide compassionate care.

“The service was consistently responsive to people’s needs and sought innovative ways to provide people with the opportunity to enrich their lives through the creative use of activities.”

Applewood Care Home is a versatile facility that offers its services for short and longterm stays, with 32 rooms that are made up of both elderly residents and people in need of temporary respite care.

The home’s owners recently invested in a new garden area in order for residents to be able to further enjoy their surroundings in a relaxed and secluded manner.

Registered manager at the care home Laura Hulett praised the effort of the staff for being ranked in the top 73 care homes in England.

She said: “As a home we have worked so hard over the past few years and we are so proud of this achievement.

“It seems at the moment that you only hear the bad things about care but there are some good homes out there too.”

The care home achieved “outstanding” ratings in the effectiveness, caring and responsive sections of the inspection, while achieving “good” in safety and being well-led.