21 November 2017
During a routine inspection
This was first inspection at this location since the service registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. It provides a service to people with varying levels of need, including older people, people living with dementia and mental health, physical disability, sensory impairment and also younger adults.
West Sussex Care is a franchise of the Home Instead brand and it provides personal care services to people living in the Chichester and Bognor Regis areas. Companionship and domestic support can also be provided. Not everyone using West Sussex Care receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection, 36 people were receiving personal care services from the agency.
The service calls their care workers 'caregivers' which is the name they are referred to throughout this report. We also refer to other staff by title or staff.
There is a registered manager at this service. 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.
This service is extremely well-led and demonstrated an exceptionally person-centred culture and evidently put people using the service at the absolute heart of the services they received. The owner and management team worked exceptionally well with other professionals and received positive feedback from professionals of the support provided to people using the service.
The owner worked together with the registered manager to co-ordinate the day-to-day running of the service. The owner worked closely in partnership with the management team when recruiting new caregivers and making decisions about taking on new packages of care and the future plans and development of the service. All new caregivers were carefully selected following a rigorous recruitment and induction process to ensure only the right caregivers were appointed to work towards the ethos and values of the organisation.
People receiving care were “matched” to caregivers with shared mutual interests that evidently ensured positive trusting relationships were fostered which gave people confidence and faith in the service they received.
Caregivers were well trained to meet individual needs of people, including providing sensitive, compassionate end of life care and dementia awareness, with the provider being an accredited Dementia Champion with the Alzheimer’s Society and registered manager an End of Life Care Champion, providing training for the agency.
Systems and processes ensured that people received a high quality safe service, with medicines being given to people safely and in accordance with their wishes and needs.
People were treated with utmost dignity and respect with their personal preferences strongly adhered to by exceptionally caring caregivers who were supported by a devoted management team and provider to “Go the extra mile” for people.
People had access to and were positively supported to attend health care appointments in least restrictive ways. Caregivers understood how to seek consent from people respectfully and appropriately.
The service had a clear strategy, objectives, vision and set of values. These were understood and put into practice. The service’s mission is to, “Change the face of ageing in our local communities in West Sussex and be the home care provider of choice for older people and their families”. It was evident that the organisation strived to achieve this mission statement with their dedication, compassion and “selfless” commitment to provide the best services to people possible.
“Music and Memories” community events were organised and run free of charge by the provider to support all people to come together to minimise social isolation and loneliness.
People, relatives and caregivers all spoke extremely highly of the service and the leadership was commended by professionals working in partnership with the provider and management team of the organisation.