We carried out a review of the data available to us about Right at Home (Sutton and Epsom) on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Right at Home (Sutton and Epsom), you can give feedback on this service.
Right at Home (Sutton and Epsom) is a domiciliary and live in care service for people with physical disabilities, sensory impairments, people living with dementia or frailty. The service provides personal care to people living in their own homes. 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. At the time of inspection 39 people were receiving personal care support from the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they received an exceptional level of care and support that frequently exceeded their expectations. Staff were particularly intuitive and had been chosen by the service for their kind and caring natures. Staff had made it their priority to build trusting and friendly relationships with people and their families and had a good understanding of their practical, social and emotional needs.
Staff were well informed about risks to people, and followed detailed guidance to reduce these, whilst continuing to promote well being and independence for the people they support. The service predicted risk and acted to prevent issues before they arose. Staff were very knowledgeable about other services and equipment that could improve people's independence and referred to those in anticipation of people's needs. 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 practice.
We saw many examples of how staff had acted to improve people’s lives, and had worked together with people to achieve the very best possible outcomes for people. People were central to all decisions made, and were encouraged to choose the way in which they were cared for and by whom, and developed strong relationships with staff they knew well and supported them regularly. Opportunities had been sought by staff to improve people's links with the community and the barriers removed that had prevented them from staying connected to others.
All of the people and families we spoke with praised the staff highly for their caring and kind natures. Many small acts of kindness and thoughtfulness made people feel happier and well cared for.
All the staff we spoke with told us they were incredibly proud to work for the organisation. They were highly valued and supported by the organisation, and received congratulations and awards as a thankyou for work well done. They were encouraged to get involved in making changes and improvements to the service, which would further enhance the quality of care for people. The management team, as well as being effective leaders for the service, also maintained their presence and relationship with clients, families and staff teams so that they were up to date and involved. They carried out support visits when needed to help support their team, and this boosted morale amongst the staff. Staff told us that the office team were as invested as the carers in providing the highest quality care.
Governance systems were robust and the management team analysed findings to continually make improvements to the service. Any issues with performance or quality were picked up straight away and acted on to prevent recurrence.
The culture in the service was one of transparency, openness, continuous learning and collaboration. Every person connected to the service that we spoke with felt involved, included and part of a team that were working together to enhance people’s lives on a daily basis. Staff going above and beyond expectations was considered usual practice by the service.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 11 October 2017)
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection.
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.
Right at Home (Sutton and Epsom) is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes for older and younger people, some of who had dementia, sensory impairment, physical disabilities and learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to 37 people.
A registered manager was in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons.’ Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People told us that they felt safe with staff who attended to their needs. Staff had a good understanding of the different types of abuse and the procedures to be followed if they had witnessed or suspected abuse had taken place. Staff were provided with the contact details for the local authority safeguarding team. Robust recruitment processes were followed to help ensure that only suitable people were employed at the agency. The provider had completed one safeguarding concern that staff had raised through provider’s whistle-blowing procedures which was safely resolved.
People were supported by enough staff to ensure their needs were met. There was a system in place to protect people from potential risks and staff had a good understanding of how to manage identified risks. Person centred care plans were in place for people and included information about how people preferred to be supported.
People were safe because accidents and incidents were recorded and monitored by the registered manager. These were discussed with staff to help minimise the risk of a repeated event. If an emergency occurred at the office or there were adverse weather conditions, people’s care would not be interrupted as there were procedures in place and were known by staff. There was an on-call system for assistance outside of normal working hours and staff would be able to access records to ensure people’s assessed needs would continue to be met.
People were support by staff who received training, supervisions and annual appraisals that helped them to meet people’s needs. They also received spot checks by management whilst they were working with people to ensure they supported the person effectively. New staff commencing their duties undertook induction training to help prepare them for their role.
Staff were up to date with current guidance to support people to make decisions. Where people had restrictions placed on them these were done in their best interests using appropriate safeguards. Staff had a clear understanding of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) as well as their responsibilities in respect of this.
People’s nutritional needs were met by staff who would cook meals for those who required this type of support. Each meal provided was recorded in care records. Identified concerns in relation to eating and drinking were monitored through the use of food and fluid charts. Staff alerted people’s relatives where concerns had been identified and Healthcare professionals were involved as and when required.
People were supported by staff to remain as independent as they were able. People were encouraged to complete daily tasks such as washing and dressing. People told us that staff showed kindness and their privacy and dignity were respected by staff who attended to them.
People were protected because a complaints procedure was available for any concerns they had. All people had been provided with a copy of this document. Complaints received by the provider had been investigated and resolved within timescales set in the policy.
Staff informed that they felt supported by the registered manager and they had an open door policy and were approachable. Staff meetings took place and staff received regular contact from their line manager and the registered manager.
Quality assurance systems were in place that enabled the provider and registered manager to monitor the quality of service being delivered and the running of the agency. People, relatives and associated professionals were provided with an annual questionnaire that enabled them to express their views about how the service was run. Comments in the surveys were positive about the care provided to people. Staff felt they received good support from the registered manager.