A CARE home in Saltash has been praised by its residents and their relatives and friends in a national survey on care standards.

Staff at St Anne’s in Plougastel Drive were rated highly in the independent ’Your Care Rating’ survey run by Ipsos MORI.

The home performed well above the national average in feedback from residents and relatives in four areas: Staff and Care, Home Comforts, Choice and Having a Say, and Quality of Life.

A total of 7,633 residents in 362 care homes gave feedback on the questionnaire, as well as more than 1,000 members of the public.

The results revealed a huge gap between the generally negative public perception of care homes, and how people living in them actually feel.

Only 26% of Britons thought care homes were a happy place to live - but every resident at St Anne’s said they were happy living there.

’There was also a mismatch between public perception of how staff treated residents compared with the older people’s actual experiences,’ said a spokesperson for Anchor, the organisation that runs St Anne’s Care Home.

’Only 45% of Britons thought care home residents were treated with dignity and respect. But all of the residents living at St Anne’s said carers treated them with kindness, dignity and respect.’

Neil McCalley, manager of St Anne’s, which is rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission, said: ’Our residents have really positive experiences in our care home, as this independent survey shows. We’re proud to have been praised for our care.

’The survey helps us further improve our services by giving us direct feedback from residents and their loved ones.’