Ethical home care provider in North London rated 'outstanding'

An ethical home care provider in Camden, North London, which was hailed by the Living Wage Foundation as a leader in the care industry, has been rated ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission.

Penrose Care has been paying its staff the living wage for the past seven years. In November last year, the agency revealed that when the the new London Living Wage rate of £10.55 per hour was announced by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, it became effective immediately at Penrose Care for all staff.

The ethical home care provider also pays travel time between clients, complies with minimum wage rates for sleep-in shifts, has an occupational sick pay scheme, private medical insurance with Vitality Health, as well as free taxi rides home if ending work after 9pm.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) praised Penrose Care for encouraging choice and independence and described the service as ‘exceptional and distinctive’.

One staff member told CQC: “Empowering people to make their own choices is very important. I do this by letting them know their choice is important to me. For instance, one of my elderly clients wanted to do her washing up. I told her how happy I was to see her active.”

While a relative of a person being cared for said: “Huge gratitude and admiration for how you picked up the pieces. I don’t know how you managed it was so reassuring to feel my relative was so well cared for during my absence.”

Debbie Ivanova, CQC’s deputy chief inspector of Adult Social Care, said: “I am very pleased to see continued improvement at Penrose Care Limited. At CQC’s previous inspection the service was rated Good overall and now it has moved up to Outstanding, our highest rating.

“Staff and management at Penrose Care work hard to ensure that people they care for are encouraged to live as independently as they possibly can. Evidence gathered from people using the service, their relatives and other health professionals shows they were impressed with the care and would not hesitate to recommend it to others.”

The agency also received very positive feedback from external health professionals, with one saying: “All patients that we have visited were well looked after. The staff are dedicated and have very good knowledge about client needs and preferences, which they always share where relevant, to help us deliver best care.”

People using the service and their relatives thought staff were extremely skilled, knowledgeable and experienced in supporting people. Comments included: “New carers shadow initially, they learn quickly” and “Absolutely delighted and bowled over with the care from Penrose.” Others said that staff helped with food shopping and preparation of people’s favourite meals.

The CQC highlighted the training in equality and diversity received by staff at Penrose Care. The agency respected people's cultural and religious needs and the ways people lived their lives. Staff supported people in accessing places of worship or to prepare food that was in line with their religious and cultural requirements, said the report.

Staff said Penrose management took good care of them. One said: “I know I am a valued worker whose opinion matters." This helped to retain staff. One relative said: "We are very happy with the company, they pay a living wage so retain staff longer so there is more continuity.”

You can read the inspection report at https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-519539290

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