- Homecare service
Nurtured Care NE
Assessment report published 7 May 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 1 April 2026 to 29 April 2026
We carried out a planned assessment to review the provider’s assurances and progress since the last assessment when the service was in breach of the regulations and rated requires improvement overall. At this assessment, the overall rating has changed to good and the provider is no longer in breach of the regulations.
Nurtured Care NE is a domiciliary care service supporting people with a wide range of needs, including people with a learning disability or autistic people. We considered the principles of right support, right care, right culture. People were supported in ways that respected their rights, promoted dignity and reflected what mattered to them. There was no evidence of restrictive practice being used, and staff described supporting people in ways that promoted choice and least restrictive care.
Leadership and governance had improved, and the provider was no longer in breach of Regulations 9 and 17. However, governance arrangements were not yet fully embedded, and oversight did not always identify risks promptly. These shortfalls did not result in widespread harm or unsafe care, but limited assurance that improvements were consistently embedded. As a result, well-led remains rated requires improvement. There are no current breaches, and no enforcement action is being taken.
People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Staff understood safeguarding responsibilities and knew how to raise concerns. Incidents and near misses were reviewed, and learning was shared. Medicines were managed safely, and infection prevention and control practices reduced risk. Staffing pressures meant care was not always delivered consistently, and some people experienced late or variable visits. This meant some people experienced uncertainty around visit times, which affected routines that were important to them.
People’s care achieved good outcomes. Needs were assessed and reviewed, and care was delivered in line with guidance. Staff worked with health and social care professionals to support wellbeing. While systems were in place to monitor outcomes, these did not always use learning effectively to drive improvement.
People were treated with kindness and respect, and staff knew people well. Although positive relationships were evident, people were not always fully supported to maximise their independence, choice and control and opportunities to promote independence were not consistently embedded.
People's experience of this service
People were mostly positive about their experience of care and the way staff supported them. People and relatives described staff as kind, caring and respectful, and said staff knew people well. One relative told us, “Staff treat people like their own family”, and another said, “Staff explained what they were doing and checked people were comfortable.” This helped people to feel valued and treated with dignity.
People felt safe using the service. People and their relatives told us staff recognised concerns and acted quickly. One relative said, “[Person] is very safe being looked after by the team… if there are concerns, they raise this with me straight away.”
People were involved in decisions about their care, and care plans reflected their needs and preferences. Staff worked in ways that respected people’s rights.
People said staff were responsive to their immediate needs and acted promptly. One person told us, “They explain what they are going to do before they do it and check I’m okay.” Others described experiencing late or variable visits, and some people said they did not always see the same staff. One person told us, “Every day it can be different and sometimes it is a stranger.”
People and relatives knew who to contact if they had concerns. However, some people told us they had not been asked for feedback. This meant people’s experiences were not always used to improve the service.