Staying at Home Care received a rating of Good across all five key questions at its first CQC inspection in March 2016. The service was characterised by consistent, flexible, person-centred care delivered by well-trained and compassionate staff, underpinned by robust quality monitoring and proactive communication with people and their families.
Strengths
· Staff had never missed a visit and the agency proactively contacted people if a care worker was running late.
· People received consistent care from regular, familiar care workers who knew their needs well.
· The service offered exceptional flexibility, allowing people to extend, shorten, cancel or add visits at short notice with no cancellation fees.
· Staff were kind, caring and respectful, treating people with dignity and maintaining their privacy during personal care.
· The management team conducted spot checks at varied times including evenings and weekends to monitor care quality.
Staying at Home Care is a small domiciliary care agency rated Good overall, with an Outstanding rating for Responsive, reflecting its highly personalised, flexible service and exceptional emergency responsiveness. No failures or regulatory breaches were identified at this inspection.
Strengths
· Highly personalised and responsive service, with staff responding quickly to emergencies including falls and unexpected changes in need
· Consistent staffing with people receiving care from familiar workers who matched their preferences and interests
· Robust recruitment procedures including DBS checks, references, proof of identity and face-to-face interviews
· Medicines managed safely with manager competency observations and regular auditing of administration records
· Strong supervision and induction programme with shadow visits and regular one-to-one sessions