Rated Outstanding

Fewer than one in twenty services reach Outstanding, and inspectors have to be able to say what is exceptional about it, not just that nothing was wrong. Most Outstanding ratings are earned on the Caring and Responsive questions: how people are treated, and how the service adapts to them.

Outstanding ratings can be old. The CQC does not re-inspect well-rated services on a fixed cycle, so check the date on each page and whether the manager named in the report is still there.