We carried out a review of the data available to us about Right at Home Croydon on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Right at Home Croydon, you can give feedback on this service.
Right at Home Croydon is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes or flats. The domiciliary care agency is registered to provide a service to people over and under the age of 65 years old, some of whom are living with dementia. The agency also provides 24-hour live-in support.
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 the inspection, 36 people were using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The service was exceptionally well managed. The provider and management team recognised the importance of a strong, united and inclusive workforce. Staff had access to an employee assist programme which enabled them to feel motivated and supported. Staff spoke extremely highly of the support they received from management. People received exceptional care due to motivated, dedicated and compassionate staff.
People were extremely complimentary about the care they received and told us they were supported by staff who were kind, caring, empathetic and compassionate. Staff spoke with compassion and genuine warmth when referring to the people they cared for.
People were involved and given choice about their day-to-day care and support. Staff treated people with dignity and respect. People received care that met their individual needs and preferences. People's care plans were reviewed and updated regularly to reflect their current needs.
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.
Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. Staff were appropriately trained on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to report safeguarding concerns. Relatives told us their love ones were safe receiving care from Right at Home Croydon. Care records contained risk assessments with clear guidance for staff to follow. Medicines were managed safely. Staff were recruited safely.
The provider carried out audits, sought feedback, reviewed care plans and welcomed complaints. They used all this to drive continuous improvement.
At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 14 November 2017).
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.
Right at Home Croydon provides personal care and support to people in their own homes who have a variety of needs, including older people, people with a learning disability and people with physical disabilities and mental health illnesses. There were 50 people using the service at the time of our inspection and most people were privately funded.
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.
The service provided personalised care to people to a very high standard. The provider emphasised companionship as part of every visit and only accepted visits of an hour minimum to enable staff to spend quality time with people. Care workers were highly motivated to provide quality care and enjoyed caring for people. Care workers knew people very well and treated people with dignity and respect. People were supported to be as independent as they wanted to be and the provider worked to increase people’s strength and mobility where possible.
The service was exceptionally responsive to people’s needs. The provider matched people exceptionally well with the care workers who supported them which helped build strong relationships. Matches were based on personality, shared interests, hobbies and backgrounds. People were each supported by a small team of care workers which provided a high level of consistency of care. People were supported to integrate into their local community and to do activities they were interested in to remain active.
The provider was very selective in their recruitment processes and only selected staff who they identified, through various methods, as kind and caring.
People were safeguarded from abuse and neglect. People felt safe and care workers received training in how to recognise if people were being abused or neglected and how to report this.
Risks relating to people’s care were managed well by the provider who had systems to identify and assess risks and put suitable management plans in place for care workers to follow to keep people safe. People were involved in the risk assessment and care planning process and care was delivered to them in accordance with their wishes.
People’s medicines were managed safely by the provider. Records showed people received medicines as prescribed and the provider had suitable systems to identify and investigate any omissions in recording.
People were supported by staff who were suitable to work with them due to checks the provider carried out as part of the recruitment practices. There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to support people. Care workers received effective support to carry out their roles through induction, training, supervision and appraisal.
People were cared for in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and care workers received training to increase their understanding of their responsibilities in relation to the Act. Care workers obtained people’s consent before they carried out tasks such as personal care and the provider had systems to assess people’s mental capacity regarding significant decisions relating to their care.
People received the necessary support in relation to health conditions, accessing healthcare services and eating and drinking when this was part of their care package.
People were provided care which was responsive to their needs and reviewed regularly to ensure their care plans contained information which was accurate and suitable for staff to follow. People and their relatives were involved in the review process.
People felt comfortable raising any concerns or complaints with management and concerns were dealt with appropriately.
The provider had a range of systems to monitor and assess the quality of the service including gathering the views of people who used the service and care workers. People, relatives and care workers all told us the service was well-led. The provider communicated well with people who used the service and care workers.