London care provider where staff are 'genuinely interested' in people's lives rated 'outstanding'

A home care provider in East London which encourages choice and independence and where 'staff seem genuinely interested' in people's lives, has been rated by the care regulator as ‘outstanding’.

Caremark (Havering) which gives care to older people and those with physical and learning disabilities as well as those needing end of life support has been given the top rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

It has also just won a homecare.co.uk award for being one of the Top 20 home care providers in London. The winners of the homecare.co.uk awards are chosen by the people they care for, plus their friends and relatives.

Neil Cox, CQC’s head of inspection for adult social care in London, said: “We found the team at Caremark (Havering) was committed to providing outstanding care to the people they supported. People were encouraged to have choice, independence, and control in a range of aspects of their lives.

“The team should be extremely proud of the work they do. What really impressed me about this service was the level of personalised support that people received from staff who had the right skills and who treated people with kindness, compassion and dignity.”

He praised Caremark staff for recognising special occasions and religious holidays where appropriate, and continued to do this during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the additional pressures they were facing.

Mr Cox added: “People told us they liked the staff who supported them, and staff themselves declared it a great place to work.

“People should always be cared for by services that are safe, effective, caring, responsive to their needs, and well-led. I would encourage other providers to read this report, and the others we have published on our website about services we have rated outstanding, to see what they can learn.”

The report revealed that people were highly respected and well-treated and their personal histories, cultures and values were identified to ensure staff were delivering a personalised service.

Inspectors found an ‘ethos of compassionate, personalised care that was tailored for each person’.

In addition, the provider's equality, diversity and inclusion policy protected characteristics such as age, race, disability and sexual orientation, which legally protect people from discrimination. Staff were trained in these areas and told inspectors they respected people's differences and human rights.

People felt consulted, empowered, listened to, and valued and during the COVID-19 pandemic, staff set up a befriending service called ‘Chit Chat Chums’ for all elderly people in Havering, not just those using the service, to help reduce people’s loneliness and anxiety during lockdown.

The service also understood how to promote end of life care. ‘The service was very supportive of a bereaved family who were unable to visit their family member, who had passed away unexpectedly. The provider offered to assist them with the funeral arrangements. The service had supported the person and the manager had got to know them well. They selected an outfit the person could wear for their burial. They knew the outfit was culturally specific and had meant something significant to them in the past as they had discussed it in their conversations they had with each other,’ said inspectors.

Bal Bains, managing director of Caremark (Havering) said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive this rating from the regulatory body for the work we conduct, caring for people in their own homes, being rated ‘outstanding’ for being responsive and well-led is a testament to the work the whole team puts in, to make sure each and every client receives the highest quality care.”

Staff members consistently praised manager Bal Bains, saying: "The manager is really nice and bubbly." and ‘‘I am so impressed with Bal. She is so compassionate, and her work is amazing and so thorough. We’re really looking forward to continuing our community events then we can, they were very good’’. Another member of staff said ‘’Bal is amazing and passionate about people and care. It really comes through’’.

Other comments from people and their relatives indicated the service was very distinctive and they were very engaged and involved in their care. One person told us, "The staff seem genuinely interested in me and my life." Another person said, "The service is absolutely excellent." This was reinforced when we visited the office location to speak with managers and look at records.

click here for more details or to contact Caremark Havering