'Outstanding' awarded to home care provider where staff 'pop-in' on days off

The Care Quality Commission has rated Omer Care in Codicote, Hertfordshire ‘outstanding’ for its high standards of care, with inspectors praising staff who they felt genuinely cared about people's outcomes.

Inspectors made special note of how staff connected with clients, detailing in the inspection report how staff ‘popped-in’ and visited clients on their days off. Their report revealed that staff were caring and compassionate and people were being provided with safe, responsive, caring, effective and well-led care.

The agency is run by sisters Karry Omer (who is also the registered manager) and Susie Stefanou.

Jemima Burnage, CQC’s head of inspection for Adult Social Care in the central region said: “The service was an active part of the community and staff took the time to get to know people.

“They were passionate about how they supported those in their care and people had friendships with staff who sometimes popped in to people to see how they were outside of their usual visit times. People felt this improved their well-being.

“We found that people were always involved in their care, treated as individuals and they consistently received person-centred care and support. 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."

Inspectors spoke with four people who used the service, two relatives, four staff members and both of the sisters.

People and their relatives spoke highly the service was run and staff were extremely positive about Omer Care, and the service that they were able to deliver. They said staff were exceptionally kind and caring.

“The ethos of the service put people at the heart of all they did. The management team and care staff went beyond what was expected to ensure people felt valued and were well cared for. There were systems in place to ensure high standards were maintained and further developments strived for to continue to improve people's lives," added Ms Burnage.

Andrea Sutcliffe, chief inspector of Adult Social Care at the CQC, said: “The quality of care which our inspectors found here was exceptional and I am very pleased that we can celebrate the service’s achievements."