Careinmyhome Herts LTD

Updated 9 November 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2014 and to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Before the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service including statutory notifications. Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us. We did not request a provider information return (PIR) for this inspection. This is information that the provider is required to send to us, which gives us some key information about the service and tells us what the service does well and any improvements they plan to make.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in. Inspection site visit activity started on 9 October 2018 and ended on 15 October 2018. It included visiting the office, meeting with staff and telephoning people and their relatives. We visited the office location on 9 October to see the manager and office staff; and to review records and policies and procedures. The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

During the inspection we spoke with four people who used the service, two relatives, four staff members, the office manager and the registered manager, who is also the provider. We also reviewed records relating to the management of the service. We also received feedback from key people who lived in the village where the service operates from.

Updated 9 November 2018

This inspection was carried out on 9 October 2018 and was announced. At their last inspection on 12 February 2016, they were found to be meeting the standards we inspected and were rated as Good. At this inspection we found that they were now rated as outstanding.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults. Omer Care were providing a regulated activity to 17 people at the time of the inspection.

The service had a manager who was registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. In this instance, the registered manager was also the provider.

People and their relatives spoke highly of the management team and how the service was run. Staff were extremely positive about Omer Care and the service that they were able to deliver. The ethos of the service put people at the heart of all that they did. The management team and the care staff went above and beyond what was expected to ensure that people felt valued and were well cared for.

There were systems in place to ensure the high standards were maintained and further developments strived for to continue to improve people’s lives. The service was an active part of the community. People knew how to make a complaint and were very confident that they would be responded to.

People were supported by staff who had considerable knowledge about the people they supported and knew how to recognise and report any concerns. Staff were well informed about people’s individual risks and how to mitigate them and medicines were managed safely. People were supported by enough staff who were well trained and felt exceptionally supported.

People were supported in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act principles and we found that people received support with eating and drinking appropriately. Staff went further than what was expected of them to help ensure people had eaten a meal and had enough to drink.

People told us that staff were all exceptionally kind and caring. Staff took the time to get to know people and were passionate about how they supported people. People had friendships with staff who at times popped in to people to see how they were outside of their usual visit times. People felt this improved their wellbeing. People were always involved in their care and were treated as individuals. Confidentiality was consistently promoted as was privacy and dignity.

People consistently received person centred care and support. Care plans were tailored to individual needs and preferences. People were, at times, supported at the end of their lives and this was done in a way that promoted their dignity ensured they were pain free.