Harrogate home care company rated 'Outstanding' in recent CQC inspection

A specialist home care provider in Harrogate has been one of the first to be awarded an outstanding rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), putting it in the top one per cent in the UK.

The CQC has found the quality of care provided by Carefound Home Care (Harrogate) to be ‘Outstanding’ following an inspection carried out in June 2015.

Debbie Westhead, deputy chief inspector for adult social care in the North, said: “We found that Carefound Home Care was providing an outstanding service to the people it supported and to their families, and the team there should be extremely proud of the work they do.

“It is particularly pleasing to note the many positive comments from people using the service and that they help people form a connection with their carers by matching them up based on shared life experience.

“It is very clear that Carefound Home Care has adopted a person centered approach to care and support. Staff act with utmost professionalism and management are dedicated to providing a safe, compassionate and high quality service that they continually seek to improve. It is for this and many other reasons why the service has received the highest rating we can give.”

Less than one per cent of 1,000 home care services judged 'Outstanding'

The home care service provides support to people in their own homes in the Harrogate, Ripon, Wetherby and North Leeds areas.

The company was inspected under the CQC´s new, more rigorous inspection regime which it began to roll out in the UK last October with care providers being given either an Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement or Inadequate rating.

To date, over 1,000 home care services have been inspected and less than one per cent of these have been judged to be 'Outstanding'.

Inspectors found staff were providing care which was safe, effective, caring, responsible to people’s needs and well led. Staff also shared the vision and ethos for providing high quality care and aimed to consistently improve the service through learning from feedback.

Furthermore, management of the service sought knowledge and best practice from other healthcare professionals to supplement their own, showing a commitment to ensure that the people they provide support to receive the best care possible.

The report also found that he home design one-to-one support packages around each client and support families that require low level assistance or individuals who require a more involved service, requiring a team to work closely with GPs and nurses to support specialist conditions such as dementia.

Oliver Stirk, director at Carefound Home Care, commented: “We set up Carefound Home Care because we believed families wanted a realistic alternative to residential care where they could continue to live in their own home surrounded by the people and things they love.

“This not only helps prevent hospital and residential care admissions, but can also bring significant health benefits through empowering elderly people to retain independence and control in their lives.”

He added: “The passion and commitment our team have for improving the lives of their clients is amazing. We are very proud of the work they do and this CQC report is the ultimate endorsement of their efforts.”

Staff receive specialist training

The inspectors also found that Carefound Home Care places great emphasis on the recruitment, training and support of its staff to ensure that its clients are cared for by professional people with the time and resources to develop genuine relationships and deliver a personalised service.

All staff receive specialist training to support complex health conditions and work closely with dementia charity, the Contented Dementia Trust. Staff deliver training in its unique dementia care technique - the ‘SPECAL’ method, an innovative way of understanding dementia from the point of view of the person with the condition.

Commenting on the inspection, Lorna Dawber, home care manager at Carefound Home Care, said: “This CQC report is a clear demonstration of how we strive to deliver a unique home care service which not only offers the peace of mind of day-to-day support but also focuses on improving the health outcomes of our clients.”

“We are regularly complimented for the quality of care and support we provide and it is lovely to see such excellent feedback in the report.

“As an employer, it is also fantastic to see how our staff are equally positive about working and developing a career with us and their passion and dedication shines through.”

Carefound Home Care was established in 2012 by Oliver Stirk who wanted to offer older people a higher quality, more personalised care option in their own homes.

It has since grown to help over 50 families through its hourly home care and live-in care services in Harrogate, Ripon, Wetherby and North Leeds and has plans to expand its reach further in 2016.

A full copy of the inspection can be accessed at http://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-275350154.

click here for more details or to contact Carefound Home Care (Harrogate)