Home Instead

Updated 16 February 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 is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This announced inspection took place on 14, 15,16,17,20 and 21 November 2017 and was undertaken by one inspector and an expert-by-experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice because we needed to ensure someone was available to facilitate the inspection.

Before the inspection, we asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. The provider completed and returned the PIR in October 2017 and we took this into account when we made judgments in this report. In addition we reviewed the information we held about the service including statutory notifications and any safeguarding referrals raised. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

We sent out questionnaires to people using the service, staff and health professionals to gather feedback and we also contacted Healthwatch for their information about the service. Healthwatch is a consumer organisation that has statutory powers to ensure the voice of the consumer is strengthened and heard by those who commission, deliver and regulate health and care services.

During the inspection we visited three people in their own home and spoke to 16 people on the telephone. We also spoke to 10 staff which included three caregivers, three senior caregivers, an administrator, and the head of caregiver experience, the head of client experience, the registered manager and the provider. We also spoke to three relatives.

We reviewed the care records of three people and three staff recruitment files. We also reviewed records relating to the management and quality assurance of the service.

Updated 16 February 2018

Home Instead Senior Care Northampton 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.

Not everyone using Home Instead Senior Care Northampton receives regulated activity; the Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection, 55 people were receiving personal care.

This inspection took place on the 14,15,16,17, 20 and 21 November 2017. We had previously inspected this service in December 2015, at that inspection the services was rated ‘Good’. We found that at this inspection the service had remained ‘Good’ but that there were areas which we saw continued improvement and have rated the service overall as ‘Outstanding.’

There was a registered manager. 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The service demonstrated an excellent commitment to providing outstanding care, which put people at the heart of everything. The provider and registered manager led the staff to deliver person centered care, which had achieved consistently outstanding outcomes for people. People were at the heart of everything

Staff continuously went the ‘extra mile’ to ensure that people remained living in the comfort of their own home. They respected people’s individuality and empowered people to express their wishes and make choices for themselves. Positive therapeutic relationships had been developed and staff were proud of the support that they had provided to people and the positive outcomes they had observed.

There was a very effective system of quality assurance led by the provider and registered manager that ensured people consistently received exceptional care and support. The people receiving care from Home Instead Senior Care Northampton had an enhanced sense of well-being and quality of life because staff worked innovatively to enable people to have meaningful experiences and not to feel isolated and alone.

Staff knew their responsibilities as defined by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005). The provider was aware of how to make referrals to the Court of Protection if people lacked capacity to consent to aspects of their care and support and were being deprived of their liberty.

Staff demonstrated the provider's values of offering person centred care that respected people as individuals in all of their interactions with people. People and their relatives consistently told us that the service provided exceptional care to people. People could be assured that they would be supported by sufficient numbers of staff who they knew. Records showed that people received consistent care in the way they needed to maintain their safety.

People's health and well-being was monitored by staff and they were supported to access health professionals in a timely manner when they needed to. People were supported to have sufficient amounts to eat and drink to maintain a balanced diet. People experienced caring relationships with staff and good interaction was evident.

Staff understood their responsibilities to safeguard people and knew how to respond if they had any concerns. Care plans contained risk assessments which gave detailed instructions to staff as to how to mitigate risks; these enabled and empowered people to live as independent a life as possible safely.

There were appropriate recruitment processes in place and people felt safe in their homes. Staff were supported through regular supervisions and undertook training which helped them to understand the needs of the people they were supporting.

The provider was not only committed to providing the most trusted and respected home care service in Northampton but also to work alongside other agencies to ‘change the Face of Ageing’.