Home care boss who struggled to find good care for her terminally ill parents gets 'Outstanding'

Clare Jefferies who set up Home Instead Senior Care Wimbledon & Kingston, after she lost both her parents in the same year and saw them receiving poor care, has seen her company rated 'Outstanding' by the CQC.

After losing her father to Motor Neurone Disease and her mother to cancer within seven months of each other, Ms Jefferies was inspired to start her own home care company.

Now five years on, she says: “My parents would be so proud of the fact that the homecare company I’ve built in their memory has been officially rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission. Receiving the highest rating possible from the CQC, and becoming the first home care provider in London to receive an Outstanding rating, is a dream come true for what I set out to do, to change the face of ageing.

“I believe in care that passes the ‘mum test’ - the standard of care that you’d be happy for your own loved one to receive. From my own personal experience, it is care that would pass both the ‘mum’ and ‘dad’ test that I’m dedicated to, with the commitment of my care team.

“When my parents needed care, I often dreamed of having another me, a ‘carbon copy daughter’ who could help look after them just the way I would do, with kindness and dignity. That’s the kind of care we deliver at Home Instead Senior Care each day.”

She found her parents were cared for by an “endless stream of different faces” who never had the time to get to know them.

Determined to do something different, she set up Home Instead Senior Care Wimbledon & Kingston to see care delivered with dignity and with continuity of care workers who would have the time to get to know the people they were looking after - a model of care described as relationship-led with visits that last a minimum of one hour.

Her company now cares for 130 older people and has a team of around a hundred CAREGivers.

Sally Warren, CQC's deputy chief inspector for adult social care, said: “We are delighted that Home Instead Senior Care is the first London home care provider to receive an Outstanding rating.

“We were particularly impressed with the provider’s work to ensure meaningful and positive experiences for people who use the service and the commitment of all staff to continuously seek improved outcomes for service users.

“People we spoke with were very positive about the service and the ability of staff to respond to their changing needs. Staff demonstrated a sound understanding of the differing needs of the people in their care and reflected these needs when planning and delivering services. This is a great example of what outstanding care looks like.”

As well as running her home care company, Clare Jefferies has been doing her utmost to combat loneliness among older people in the community by starting a series of social clubs to give people a special diary date to look forward to with afternoon tea, lunch, and theatre clubs.

In its report, CQC inspectors said: ‘These clubs gave people the ‘feel good factor’ and a sense that they were being supported which helped them in their day to day life. Just because you are an older person, doesn’t mean your quality of life should diminish.’

She has also launched memory cafes for people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia, social events with activities designed to stimulate reminiscence conversations.

click here for more details or to contact Home Instead (Wimbledon & Kingston)