A NEW FOREST nursing home has become the third Colten Care complex in less than a year to be rated "outstanding" by industry regulators.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has awarded its highest grade to Woodpeckers in Sway Road, Brockenhurst, praising its "exceptionally personalised" care and describing the service it provides as "effective, responsive and well-led".

The rating follows similar accolades for two other Colten homes in the Forest - Linden House in Lymington and Kingfishers in New Milton.

Mark Aitchison, the company's chief executive, said: “Having three homes rated 'outstanding' in successive inspections puts us among the country’s top providers.

“With all 20 of our homes rated 'outstanding' or 'good' we can justifiably lay claim to being in a different class from many other private sector operators.

“Fifteen per cent of our homes are 'outstanding' against an industry average of less than two per cent and locally three out of our five New Forest homes are 'outstanding'.

“It’s particularly gratifying as we're achieving this recognition while investing in nursing at a time when others are turning away from it due to recruitment challenges and higher costs."

Mr Aitchison joined Woodpeckers residents, relatives and staff at a party to celebrate the home’s success, describing the CQC rating as a "huge triumph".

One of the residents, Elspeth Shepherd, added: "This really is a lovely home and I’m very proud to live here.”

The home's new manager, Katie Whiteside, recently took over from Janie Pearman, who at the time of the two-day inspection was the manager for both Woodpeckers and its sister home in Lymington, Belmore Lodge.

Katie said: “I pay tribute to Janie and the whole team for this fantastic achievement.

“We always promote best practice and an open and transparent culture for the benefit of our residents and their families, and we’re thrilled that the inspectors recognise this.”

The CQC'S 26-page report praised Colten Care’s approach, stating: “Staff understand the needs of people and support them in an exceptionally personalised way.

“We saw that care was provided respectfully and sensitively, taking into account people's different needs.

“The impact this had on people was outstanding and had resulted in them living an active life with choice evident throughout.”