Archived: Cherish Care

Updated 19 February 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 1 and 2 November 2018 and was announced.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection site visit. We did this as the service is a domiciliary care agency and we wanted to ensure that appropriate office staff were available to talk with us, and that people using the service could be made aware that we may contact them to obtain their views. The inspection team consisted of 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.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR) to complete the inspection report. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We looked at this and other information we held about the service. This included notifications. Notifications are changes, events or incidents that the service must inform us about.

We spoke with six people who used the service and with six relatives of people using the service over the telephone. During the inspection we spoke with seven staff members that included three care staff, the provider, two care co-ordinators and the registered manger. We observed the staff working in the office dealing with issues and speaking with people over the telephone. After the inspection we received feedback from two health and social care professionals.

We reviewed a range of records about people's care and how the service was managed. These included the care records for five people, and records relating to medicine management, staff training, support and employment records, quality assurance audits, incident reports and records relating to the management of the service.

The service was last inspected on the 1 March 2016 and was awarded the rating of Good. At this inspection the service had improved to Outstanding.

Updated 19 February 2019

The inspection took place on 1 and 2 November 2018 and was announced.

Cherish Care is a domiciliary care service providing support to people living in their own homes, a majority of whom are privately funded. The service specialises in providing care for people living with dementia or who are at the end of their life. The service also offers support to people with other needs, such as older people and people living with physical disabilities, to enable them to continue living in their own homes. On the day of our inspection there were 42 people receiving support from the service. The service is family run and based in Henfield, West Sussex.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People and relatives praised staff as exceptionally caring and compassionate. People were supported by professional, well trained staff who they viewed as family and friends. People’s views, experience and contributions were sought and valued. The agency had a strong, visible

person-centred culture. People were at the heart of everything they did, they were made to feel valued and that they mattered. The service went that extra mile to exceed people's expectations of the service.

People received an outstanding level of person-centred care. Staff knew people's background, previous occupation, likes and dislikes extremely well and went the extra mile to create positive experiences for people.

People were matched extremely effectively with staff who shared their interests and could deliver person-centred care. There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs. People received very good continuity of support from a care team that were flexible and adaptable in ensuring this was maintained.

People and their relatives spoke told us how highly the service was thought of in the local areas they served and how they had recommended them to others. One relative told us, “We could not ask for better support as my mother wants to be at home. I would definitely recommend Cherish carers.”

There was a very positive, inclusive culture across the management and staff team. Staff were encouraged to think creatively of ways to engage people in their interests and explore experiences to enrich their lives.

People and their relatives we spoke with told us they would be comfortable raising a complaint if needed but we found very few complaints had been raised. The provider was proactive in ensuring that complaints and issues were used to drive improvements.

Personalised risk assessments provided comprehensive guidance for staff, who were vigilant in identifying risks and took steps to reduce them. People received their medicines safely and on time from staff who were trained and assessed to manage medicines safely. Staff were trained to be aware of signs of abuse and were encouraged to report concerns, which were investigated. A robust recruitment process was in place to make sure people were cared for by suitable staff.

Staff received a comprehensive training programme to ensure they were skilled and knowledgeable to deliver effective care. Staff were receiving induction, supervisions and appraisals and told us they felt very well supported by the management team.

The service worked in partnership with professionals and outside agencies to ensure people received effective support. Staff worked with local groups like Know Dementia and Age UK to share and receive knowledge on best practices.

The provider had implemented good quality assurance systems which routinely reviewed people’s care to drive improvement. The service was following best practice guidance from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, in-particular for ensuring effective quality assurance practices.

At the last inspection on 1 March 2016, we rated the service overall as good. At this inspection we found that the provider had improved to outstanding.