Super food for seniors
As a home care provider, we pride ourselves on delivering a high quality service which guarantees peace of mind. Last month we passed a routine inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) with flying colours, meeting the standard for all criteria.
The purpose of the inspection was to check that essential standards of quality and safety were being met. The criteria and judgements are as follows:
1. Respecting and involving people who use services
• People’s views and experiences were taken into account, in the way the service was provided and delivered in relation to their care. People’s privacy, dignity and independence were respected.
2. Care and welfare of people who use services
• Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people’s safety and welfare.
3. Safeguarding people who use services from abuse
• People who use the service were protected from the risk of abuse, because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening.
4. Requirements relating to workers
• People were cared for, or supported, by suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff.
5. Assessing and monitoring the quality of the service provision
• The provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received. The provider had an effective system in place to identify, assess and manage risks to the health, safety and welfare of people who use the service and others.
CQC inspectors visited the homes of our clients to observe how our staff were delivering care. They determined that we had effective systems and policies and that our staff were happy in their work and well trained and supported. Furthermore, they found that:
• The staff treated clients with respect and dignity
• Clients were supported in promoting their independence and community involvement
• Each person who used our service was offered choices about the sort of personal care they wanted (including food and drink and tasks they wanted support with around their home)
• Relatives said that they valued the continuity of the care
• Staff were prompt and stayed for the full time agreed
• Relatives liked the flexibility offered
• People’s needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in accordance with individual care plans
• Care plans reflected the wishes of the people using the service
• Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people’s safety and welfare
• There were arrangements in place to deal with foreseeable emergencies and a 24 hour on-call system to deal with emergencies seven days a week
During the inspection, clients and their carers and/or family members, and also staff were interviewed to get their views on the service. Below is some of the positive feedback we received:
− “We have never had a bad carer from Comfort Keepers” – relative
− “The staff are really kind and they give me confidence” – client
− “We treat people as you would like to be treated” – care worker
− “The manager is attentive and always answers the telephone” – relative
− “It is a wonderful match and they feel like part of the family, which is what we want…I didn’t know carers could be as good as this” – relative referring to care worker
− “They have time to sit and chat to my mother, they are ‘top notch'” – relative
− “We really mean it when we say we offer choice and autonomy to people who use the service” – care worker
− “People and relatives that we spoke with said that they staff were ‘kind’ and ‘the standard of care is excellent’ – CQC inspector
Darren Housden, UK Business Development Manager, Comfort Keepers UK, said about the report:
“We are delighted with the result and very pleased to have happy clients and happy care workers. We pride ourselves on providing exceptional care and do all we can to ensure that relatives feel confident that our highly trained and competent staff are looking after them.
“We hope the inspection will serve as a clear message that we really do guarantee peace of mind when delivering our home care service and that more people will consider us as a result. We are here to help, so please, if you think you need help looking after a loved one, or would just like some advice, do get in touch for a free consultation.”
You can download the full CQC report here.
