A NURSING home has been named among the country’s top one per cent having once again excelled during a visit from the care watchdog.

The Andover Nursing Home, in Weyhill Road, was judged to be ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) during an unannounced visit in April — the second such rating the facility has received in the space of just over two years.

Matron and manager Louise Makepeace said: “It was such a great pleasure to inform the staff, residents and their families that we have again achieved the highest accolade of being rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC.

“There are approximately 23,000 care homes in England and less than one per cent achieve this result.

“Achieving two consecutive ‘outstanding’ ratings is an incredible achievement for the whole team and I could not be prouder.”

The Andover Nursing Home provides personal and nursing care for up to 87 people across its two units.

The facility was rated ‘good’ for the ‘safe’ and ‘effective’ elements of its service, with top marks in ‘caring’, ‘responsive’ and ‘well-led’ categories, earning it the highest possible rating overall.

The report praised the culture created by leadership, which “drove and improved high quality person-centred care”.

Staff were also singled out for the “exceptional, holistic, person centred, end of life care” they provided people and for the way they were “motivated to ensure people had the best day possible and understood how their role and interactions contributed to people’s wellbeing”.

Proprietor and managing director Dr Ramneek Grewal added: “I feel incredibly proud of matron and her team of staff for this achievement.

“Louise has created a partnership between residents, staff and their families and it is only with this that we able to create a warm and homely environment for our residents and staff.

“We are excited about the progress we have made this past year and continue to strive for even higher standards in the years ahead.”