Home Instead Leigh

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. This is the first assessment since the office location changed and the service was re-registered. This key question has been rated good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 70 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

People spoke positively about the care they received and the staff who provided this. Relatives were also complementary in their feedback. One person told us, “The carers are kind, considerate and caring. They are easy to chat to and would do anything for you within reason.” A relative stated, “I’ve met the carers and they are lovely. They are both professional and caring.”

Care staff treated people with dignity and respect, including when providing personal care. One person told us, “Everybody is really professional, courteous and they make you feel at ease because what they are doing is intensely embarrassing. They ask about other family members and remember details about my life. Literally all of them are wonderful. I'm not just saying this, they all go the extra mile for you.”

Care staff explained the way in which they promoted people’s dignity. One stated, “I treat people with dignity and respect by valuing their worth, feelings and opinions even if I don't agree with them, and by respecting everyone's personal space and privacy. For example, when showering a client, I ask what they need assistance with and if there is nothing wait outside and tell them I will stay close by and to call if they require assistance. If a client is bed bound and requires their incontinence aid changing, ask those who do not require to be there to please wait outside, close the door and blinds to give the client the most possible privacy.”

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Staff understood how to treat people as individuals and provide care and support in line with their needs and preferences. A staff member told us, “We support people who have a variety of diverse needs. To cater for these I research specific things, such as their religion. I also involve the client and their family in my research and ask them if I could ask questions if I am unsure or curious. In my experience, I have been encouraged to ask questions and talk about their diversity so I can better understand.”

Care staff had formed positive working relationships with people built on openness and respect. Through getting to know people and how they wanted to be supported, people viewed their visits positively. A relative told us, “There is another set of carers that come to prompt [relative] with meds. The difference in the carers that come from Home Instead is remarkable. The Home Instead carers know her name and treat her so well, she looks forward to seeing them whereas the other company’s carers just do what they have to do and leave.”

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

The provider told us ensuring people were offered choice and took a lead in determining how and what their care looked like was a key element of the service. They stated, “This is why we do not offer 30 minute calls, so that we can ensure people receive person centred care and have their needs met safely and fully.” Staff were encouraged to offer people choices and not make assumptions about people’s abilities. This included encouraging them to complete activities for themselves, with staff offering support only as and when needed.

Feedback from people and relatives confirmed choice was offered and independence promoted. Comments included, “They offer me choices. They help me to sit up on my own. They help me to transfer. I can wash myself I just need help getting to the sink” and “Within their report the carers will state whilst they were doing such and such, mum was doing this or that. This shows they let her do things on her own.”

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

The provider responded proactively when people needed immediate help or support with their care and support needs. One person told us, “The office member of staff did a courtesy call to check if I had my medications which I hadn't and to see how I was managing. They monitored this over the next day or so, along with my mobility and continence needs, as I was not mobilising properly or making it to the commode in time. Home Instead contacted my social worker and raised their concerns. It was agreed to put extra care calls in daily, to support me with getting washed and dressed, continence care and medication.”

We also noted another example, where the provider temporarily increased a person’s care visits, to support the family who were struggling to manage, as their usual support networks were unwell.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff, and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. However, limited actions had been taken following the latest staff survey to address areas of concern.

The national office of the Home Instead franchise sent out annual surveys to staff of each individual branch. We were also told 6 monthly surveys were also circulated by management of Home Instead Leigh, though saw no evidence of these. When reviewing the latest annual survey results dated December 2024, we noted of the 10 areas which made up the ‘employee experience’ section, scores had reduced in 8 of these, 6 of which were now below the Home Instead UK average. The provider had taken limited action to explore these reductions to enable potential changes to be made, to improve staff experience.

However, we did see some good evidence of work done to help promote and support staff wellbeing, and validate them for their hard work. The provider had a closed social media page, which they used to celebrate care staff and their achievements. The provider also had a quarterly award scheme in place for staff, held care professionals’ appreciation days and had also introduced an incentive scheme, where staff who picked up extra shifts were entered into a prize draw, and could win shopping vouchers of their choice.