During an assessment under our new approach
About the service
Comfort Home Care is a domiciliary care agency that provides care and support to people living in their own homes.
Who the service is for
This includes people with a range of needs, including dementia, older people, sensory impairment, younger adults and people with a physical disability. Not everyone using the service received personal care. CQC only inspects services where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks relating to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection, 56 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care.
We carried out this assessment between 4 September and 30 September 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.
The majority of staff who responded to our request for feedback had worked at the service for several years, which meant there was a stable core staff team. They told us they had a regular group of people which they visited and had built positive relationships with them. A staff member said, “I believe it is important to treat every person as an individual and provide care in the way I would want my own family members to be treated.”
Staff told us their induction experience had been positive and the role of the on-call staff provided additional support, which reassured them. For example, “I feel supported, enjoy working with the people we care for and feel that the company provides staff with the training and information needed to do their job well.”
The staff team were up to date in their training and therefore had the skills and knowledge to support people safely. A staff member explained, “Every day you learn something different” and commented the knowledge from their training enabled them to respond confidently to new situations. Staff received medicine training, with their practice observed and records audited.
The manager was clear about their responsibility to report safeguarding concerns, which was confirmed by a safeguarding referral made by the service. Staff also understood their duty to report changes, one said, “We are definitely encouraged to raise any concerns as the client's wellbeing and ours are always top of the list.”
The service had a robust quality assurance system, which included unannounced spot checks on care workers’ practice and record keeping including at weekends. Records linked to people’s care needs and the running of the service were well managed. The management team also had their work audited to ensure standards were maintained.
Care plans were person centred and provided clear up to date guidance on how people wished to be supported. Staff confirmed they had access to relevant information and were kept up to date with changes. Risks were assessed, for example, we saw from records how one person’s care needs had increased over time requiring more specialist equipment and additional staff involvement. Environmental risks were also addressed. A social care professional said, “I have always found that Comfort Home Care have a very clear understanding of their clients and their needs, which is evident when I review clients.”
The manager explained how as a company they took pride in the quality of palliative and end of life care provided by staff. Staff also commented on their role of supporting people with bereavement, which people using the service told us they appreciated. Staff were proud to share how they respected the people they worked with and valued their role in people’s lives.
Staff were positive about the level of support they received from the manager and office staff. They said, “Comfort Home Care is a lovely company to work for” and “I am always treated well and fairly and can always talk to my manager in any situation.” Office staff were also trained to deliver care so could step in when there was unexpected staff sickness or in an emergency. An on-call system for staff operated from 6am - 10pm 7 days a week. A staff member said, “I particularly appreciate the understanding and support I have received from the company when I have needed it. This has made me feel valued as an employee.” A social care professional said, “Generally speaking, staff get to know the clients well and from the feedback I have received from clients, they say that Comfort Home Care are very good.”