'Mum-worthy' home care provider rated 'Outstanding'

A daughter upset by the poor care given to her mother, set up a home care firm to deliver ‘mum-worthy’ care which has received an ‘Outstanding’ rating.

Home Instead Senior Care Durham has been rated ‘Outstanding’ in an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), only three years after owner Trudi Jameson established the franchised firm.

Home Instead Senior Care Durham was visited on 2-3 November 2015, by CQC inspectors who found: 'Without exception, people were treated with compassion, respect and dignity by staff who built meaningful relationships with them.'

Trudi Jameson's home care clients and their families commended her standards of care to the CQC inspectors. The inspectors said “One relative told us, ‘I would recommend them to anyone; they are marvellous. They are everything you would want if it were your parent'."

'Other comments from people who used the service and their relatives included, 'Wonderful care,' 'There is nothing I would change', 'This is as good as you can get' 'They are the only agency we have had that are so caring and they won’t let you down'.'

Inspectors praised the team of 40 care workers and office staff, saying: “There was evidence of staff at all levels ‘putting themselves in the shoes’ of the people who used the service before making decisions.”

Trudi Jameson said of her Outstanding rating: “I cried when I read the CQC’s report. To have so many people, the inspectors, clients and relatives saying so many nice things about myself and my team was incredible.”

Minimum of one hour home care visits

The CQC report praised the ‘one hour minimum’ call visits offered by the service. Their inspection report stated: 'We found the provider delivered outstanding levels of care and put the person’s needs at the forefront of care planning and decision making. People who used the service and staff felt having care calls of a minimum of one hour enabled these relationships to develop.'

On the subject of 'flying' home care visits still taking place across the UK, despite calls for the House of Lords to make them longer.

Trudi Jameson said: “I think it is shocking, absolutely disgraceful that there are still 15 minute home care visits. I’ve heard from people that these are more like seven or eight minutes because care workers are delayed and rushing to make up time. “How anything is done in 15-20 minutes is beyond me.”

Ms Jameson ensures that the phrase ‘care that passes the mum test’ is instilled into every member of staff personally, by conducting induction training herself.

Inspectors revealed: “When we asked staff questions about the subjects they had been trained in, for example, mental capacity, they were able to give detailed responses to a range of questions about how the training influenced the care they gave.”

"Can't teach you to care"

Referring to staff training, Ms Jameson said: “We can teach you everything else but we can’t teach you to care. It starts with the passion of the team. We take a long time to find the right care workers. We turn a lot of people away who just aren’t right for us. The question is “would I let this person look after one of my family?” Prior to setting up Home Instead, Ms Jameson spent 10 years as a residential care home manager in Birmingham, before taking a job with Sunderland Council managing health and care services. However, her frustration about what she experienced with her own mum was a catalyst for the home care firm’s creation.

Mother’s care experience

Ms Jameson’s mother’s experience in sheltered housing saw breakfast visits taking place at noon or just missed entirely.

“She was being put into a nightie at 5pm which left her too embarrassed to join social activities in the evening. There were tea parties, bingo. My mother became isolated.”

“My mother would be still in bed at 11am and desperate for the toilet but unable to get out of bed because staff hadn’t arrived. Staff would bring their children with them because they didn’t have childcare.” Trudi Jameson, care manager Annette Connor and the rest of the team care for more than 60 elderly clients across Durham. Staff from the company also work in the wider community, running workshops on dementia awareness and senior fraud prevention. Home Instead Senior Care has received three Outstanding Ratings from the CQC.

Debbie Westhead, the CQC’s deputy chief inspector for adult social care in the North, said: “The staff at Home Instead Senior Care Durham were providing an outstanding level of care to the people they supported. There was a real effort to get to know the people the service supported, taking the time to learn their history and care needs whilst developing a friendly relationship and ensuring that they were included in their care planning so they retained their independence. “We received many positive comments about the service, how great the care was and how the relatives felt supported as well. Everyone at Home Instead Senior Care Durham should feel proud of the work they do. “It is for this and many other reasons why the service has received the highest rating we can give.”

A full report of the inspection can be viewed at: www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-1924959828