- Homecare service
Gentle Folk Community Care
Assessment report published 15 October 2025
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 08 September to 30 September 2025. Gentle Folk Community Care is a care at home service providing support to older people, younger adults, people living with dementia, a sensory impairment and/or a physical disability. There were 36 people receiving the regulated activity of personal care at the time of the inspection.
The inspection was completed due to concerns being raised relating to staff recruitment. Our findings showed that the provider had made improvements in recruitment practices. We did, however, find that the provider had failed to report all safeguarding concerns to the Care Quality Commission as required but had, nevertheless, taken robust action to protect people.
The provider nurtured an open, supportive and caring environment for those people who used the service, their relatives and their staff. They reflected on incidents, accidents and near misses to ensure they kept people safe and to make improvements. People received care that was dedicated, person-centred and safe. People and their relatives told us they saw the same group of staff who were well-trained, respectful and compassionate. The risks to people, and staff, had been identified, mitigated and reviewed and people told us they felt safe using the service. People received their medicines as prescribed, and they told us staff were good at protecting them from the risk of infectious diseases by washing their hands and using personal protective equipment (PPE). People had been involved in the planning of their care, and they told us the service met their needs.
Staff told us they felt valued and appreciated and that they were treated kindly by the provider. Staff received the training, supervision and support they needed to perform their role, help keep people safe and maintain a good quality service. Staff told us they were happy to work for Gentle Folk Community Care.
We received feedback from 18 people who used the service and/or their relatives, and they all told us they would recommend the service. One relative we spoke with summed up the feedback received by saying, “They [Gentle Folk Community Care] are reliable, kind and caring and we get responses. [Relative] is very happy with them and yes, we would definitely recommend them. They are probably one of the best companies.”
People's experience of this service
People were consistently positive about the quality of their care. They told us the staff that supported them were kind, caring and patient. People said they received respectful care that maintained their dignity and encouraged their independence. They told us the service had spent time understanding their needs and what support they required, involving people that were important to them and ensuring they remained in control. People told us they felt safe with the staff that supported them and that their care and support needs were reviewed on a regular basis with their full involvement. They told us the staff who supported them had the skills to meet their needs and that, in the event they needed to raise a concern, they felt comfortable to do so in the knowledge they would be listened to and their concerns addressed.
One relative summed up the experience of all those we spoke with. They said, “I’d definitely recommend the service. I like their kindness and how they treat and care for people as individuals. Without their support [relative] wouldn’t be at home. Before, they were not eating and drinking. They [the service] make a big difference.”