Home Instead

Updated 4 December 2021

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by an inspector who visited the service’s office and an Expert by Experience who made telephone calls to people who used the service and their family members.

An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period of notice of the inspection because it is a domiciliary care service and we wanted to make sure we could speak with managers and staff during the visit.

We visited the office location on 13 October 2021. Calls to people who used the service and their family members were made on 14 October 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We looked at all the information we had received from and about the service.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the agency's office and spoke with five members of staff, the registered manager and the provider's nominated individual (the person responsible for supervising the management of the service). An Expert by Experience spoke with five people who received care and support and nine family members of people being supported.

We viewed a sample of records connected with people’s individual care and the running of the service. These records included four care and support plans, three staff recruitment files, minutes of meetings, records of complaints and compliments.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We requested some records regarding quality assurance to be sent to us and these were received in a timely manner.

Updated 4 December 2021

About the service

Home Instead is a domiciliary care agency which provides care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection 17 people were receiving assistance with personal care.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Everyone we spoke with praised the care and support they received. All said they would recommend the service. One person told us they had started using the service because it had been personally recommended to them.

People were supported by a management and staff team who were exceptionally kind and went over and above their job role to make sure people were content and comfortable with their care. People we spoke with commented on the kindness and friendliness of the care workers who visited them and the office staff. People said that all staff were approachable and sorted out any issues or concerns they had.

Staff who worked for the agency were called 'care givers'. They were matched to people to enable them to build trusting and effective relationships with the people they supported. People were extremely positive about the care workers who visited them and said they had been well matched. People felt listened to and in control of the support they received. We heard how the matching process had enhanced and improved people's well-being.

People felt involved in all decisions about their care and thought that care workers promoted their independence and dignity. In some cases this had led to improvements in people's health and confidence which had reduced the amount of care they needed.

Care workers worked in partnership with other professionals and helped people to achieve their goals. This had included supporting one person to visit the sea front to listen to the waves and another to attend a music festival.

The agency was well led by a management team who were passionate about providing high quality, person-centred care. Care provided was individual to each person and was flexible to meet changing needs and wishes. Where a person's needs could no longer be met by the service the care worker had supported them to settle into a new environment.

There were systems in place to schedule visits, respond to emergency situations, monitor the quality of care provided and make improvements where necessary. People told us the service was reliable and care workers turned up when planned.

People were supported by small groups of care workers who knew them well. Care workers monitored people’s health and well-being and supported them to seek medical advice and treatment when needed.

People felt safe with the staff who supported them. All said that care workers were respectful of them and their property.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 30/09/2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date the service was registered.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.