TWO elderly care homes in Thornbury and Almondsbury are celebrating ‘outstanding’ news after earning top marks in a recent inspection.

Beech House in Thornbury and Glebe House in Almondsbury, who are both owned by Bristol Care Homes, received the fantastic news of their “Outstanding” grade following inspections by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

“We are overwhelmed by the results,” said Geoff Crocker, chairman of Bristol Care Homes.

“It is a great accolade and a tremendous testament to our staff who all work so hard for our residents. These fantastic results have really meant a lot to all of us.”

Mr Crocker put the exemplary results down to the level of commitment staff put into their work, as well as their commitment to innovating with the introduction of state-of-the-art computerised systems.

He also said that many new avenues to improve were explored after they allowed research by Staffordshire University to take place – information that was subsequently to the CQC.

The homes were assessed on five criteria – whether they were safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led – with enough reaching the highest standard to achieve the overall rating.

Staff from both homes celebrated in style at Thornbury’s La Piazza Italian restaurant on Friday, with plenty of bubbly to toast the success.

“My nerves were shot waiting for the result,” admitted Beech House nursing manager Marisa Stevens.

“I had a feeling we were going to do well, as everyone here puts their all into making this as good an environment as it can be, but the delay in it having to go to a special panel for review meant we never really knew until the announcement.”

The homes, which currently host residents ranging from 66 to 105-years old, offer a range of services to keep everyone active, including trips out and one-to-one sessions, as well as opportunities to work with gardeners, musicians, artists and even pupils from nearby primary schools.

Ms Stevens added: “At the end of the day, I think the measure of a good care home is to look at it objectively and ask whether you would want to put a person you love in the place where you work, and both here and Glebe House definitely make the cut.”