Ribble Valley home care service rated as one of the best in the country by the CQC - here's why
“Staff always respected their individualities and celebrated their achievements.”
A Lancashire care service has been revealed as one of the very best in the country after its latest Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection.
Right At Home (East Lancashire and Ribble Valley), which is run by Red Rose Homecare Ltd, is a domiciliary service for all ages that is also registered to support people with a learning disability and autism.
A report of a CQC visit carried out in July has just been released publicly. The service was rated as Outstanding overall, with Outstanding marks in caring and leadership.
Inspectors said: “People were always treated with patience, kindness and compassion. Staff always respected their individualities and celebrated their achievements. People had full choice in their care and had made trusting bonds with consistent members of staff, leading to some exceptional outcomes. Staff responded to people in a timely way. The provider excelled at supporting staff wellbeing.”
The report also remarked upon how people received timely and effective support from staff “who understood them well and worked consistently in line with the provider’s ethos of providing high quality, compassionate care.”
It added: “Staff were extremely well supported to give high standards of person-centred care to people who used the service. They arrived on time, stayed for the duration of calls, knew what was expected of them and engaged with people to build rapport and trust. They used initiative and had the support of the provider when exploring ways to increase people’s independence and wellbeing. Proactive partnership working and the use of meaningful activities was a core strength of the service, and had positive impacts on people’s quality of life.”
Inspectors noted that the service had well established electronic records systems. The registered manager demonstrated effective oversight of this and was well supported by an experienced office team who had a range of delegated responsibilities. Staff were supported to further their careers in social care through extensive training and learning packages.
The registered manager and nominated individual also worked proactively with the team and external partners to continually look at ways of reviewing and improving the service.
The report adds: “The provider had a positive learning culture. People and staff could raise concerns when they needed, confident that managers would investigate incidents comprehensively. Staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities and managed risks. People were protected and kept safe from the risk of abuse. There were appropriate environmental risk assessments to help people maintain safe environments at home, and for staff to support them. Staff managed medicines safely. People and their relatives were involved in planning any changes to their care.”
User feedback
People and relatives gave consistently positive feedback about the care provided, the staff who supported them, and the organisation generally. Inspectors said some of the feedback was ‘exceptional’.
Inspectors said: “People told us, “They always try to cheer [person] up, even when they’re having a bad day,” and, “They always treat her with respect and affection, a person not a client.” One external healthcare professional told us, “I would like to highlight their positive attitude, professionalism and commitment to supporting people to achieve the best outcomes possible.”
“People gave examples of how staff had helped them regain or develop their independence and achieve goals. They had full confidence in staff, for instance saying, “They seem very well trained and they are rigorous in what they do.””
People and relatives found staff to be positive, engaging, and regularly, as multiple people put it, “Going the extra mile” to ensure people’s needs were met.