A housing support service has been heavily praised by the Care Inspectorate after it received a five star review for its services.

Blackwood’s Belses Gardens Care Home recently underwent an unannounced inspection for which it was awarded five stars for its dedication to care and support for residents, outstanding staffing and management skills and strong leadership standards as well as maintaining high grades from the previous inspection.

The Inspection Report revealed the five star grades in the “staffing”, “care and support”, “environment”, “staffing, management and leadership” and “maintaining the same grades from the previous inspection” categories.

Specific criteria within these categories can be awarded six stars, but this is extremely rare. However, Belses Gardens Care Home can now boast one of these ratings for its exceptional environment which allows Blackwood’s service users to receive the most positive and high quality of life as possible.

The staff at Belses Gardens Care Home are dedicated to ensuring that the opinions of the residents who live there are welcomed. The inspection found that not only did staff seek out feedback from their customers, they also acted on it, therefore ensuring that the suggestions could have a positive impact on the whole community.

Customers, in particular, reported high levels of satisfaction, praising the dedicated staff who encourage them to live independently in their own homes, and to get involved in the activities of the wider community.

Liz Peebles, manager at Belses Gardens Care Home, said: “Both staff and customers were delighted with the score and feel it’s a great way to reflect the positive atmosphere in place at Belses Gardens.

“We pride ourselves on supplying our staff with the very best training, ensuring that our management team is kept up-to-date with the best practices and wider developments that impact on the local service.

“All of our staff receive regular supervisions, have a high level of training and are enthusiastic and committed to their roles.

“There is definitely a real team ethic at Belses Gardens and we are confident that our customers know and have working relationships with staff, to such a level where they know that their views will be heard.”

Liz is also continually striving to improve the service and is thankful to the Care Inspectorate for providing further key points for Belses Gardens Care Home to work on.

She added: “No matter how strongly we are rated we know there will always be ways we can improve, therefore the feedback from the Care Inspectorate is vital and welcomed.”

Blackwood chief executive, Fanchea Kelly, said: “I’m thrilled with the five star review Belses Gardens Care Home received for its committed and attentive staff, and to achieve six star grades for one of these aspects of the report is phenomenal. It’s great that the customers feel so at home and so positive about their experiences with Blackwood.

“It’s a testament to Blackwood’s commitment to providing a high level of care and support to customers that is frequently inspected and maintained.

“The people who use Blackwood services are at the heart of shaping its future. Their experiences and input steer our new policies and innovation at Board level, in regional scrutiny panels and via tenant surveys.

“Therefore, it’s fantastic to know that one of the key strengths in Belses Gardens is the care and support provided by the staff, who provide the basis of the great feedback experienced in this development.”