Right at Home Bedford

Updated 17 May 2023

We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.

Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period of notice for the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure the registered manager and nominated individual / managing director would be available to support the inspection.

The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

Inspection activity started on 9 February 2023 and ended on 1 March 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service, including information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 16 Aug 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements.

We also sought feedback from the local authorities and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location’s office. We used technology such as telephone and video calls to enable us to engage with people using the service and staff, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation.

We spoke with 4 people who used the service and 8 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We also spoke with 6 members of staff including: the nominated individual / managing director, registered manager, quality and compliance manager service manager and 3 caregivers. In addition, we received written feedback from 2 professionals and 7 more caregivers.

We reviewed a range of records including care and medicine records for 6 people using the service. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service. These included staff records, compliments, audits and meeting minutes; so we could corroborate our findings and ensure the care and support being provided to people was appropriate for them.

Updated 17 May 2023

About the service

Right at Home Bedford is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. The service supported older adults who may also be living with a physical disability or dementia.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

At the time of this inspection the service was supporting 23 people. Of these, 17 were receiving personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People benefitted from a dependable and personalised service that met their needs, understood people as individuals and held values that placed people at the heart of their care.

Feedback from people, relatives and professionals who worked closely with the service, was overwhelmingly positive and remarkably consistent. They repeatedly praised the caring and ‘can do’ attitudes of staff. For example, one relative told us, “Right at Home are extremely reliable, caring and considerate and definitely go the extra mile. The carers are amazing and very friendly and have certainly made a difference in my (relative’s) recovery.” Another person added, “It’s all lovely, a blessing. I would definitely recommend to others.”

The management team considered careful matching of the staff with people they supported, taking their mutual interests and individual personalities into account. As such, people received personalised care and support from a team of highly motivated and experienced staff whom they had bonded with and trusted.

People were proactively enabled to contribute to the planning of their own care. The service understood that each person they worked with was an individual with different wants and needs. Staff went above and beyond to make a difference to people’s lives; helping to increase their independence, achieve their dreams interests and aspirations, and minimise the risks from loneliness.

Staff had the right training to keep people safe. For example, from abuse, avoidable harm, medication errors and infections. They collaborated with relevant professionals to ensure people's health needs were met.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People's rights were strongly respected and upheld; an equality, diversity and human rights approach to supporting people's privacy and dignity was well embedded in the service.

Distinctive leadership ensured there was a strong, visible person-centred culture, which enabled people to lead full and meaningful lives. The management team were extremely involved in all aspects of the service and knew every person and their relatives well. People and relatives told us they felt comfortable and happy talking to the management team.

The service was innovative and dedicated to ensuring continuous quality improvement to make a real difference for people. This approach was also evident in the way the management team supported staff. There was a strong emphasis on nurturing and developing the team on an individual level.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 13 December 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.