During an assessment under our new approach
Date of Assessment: 24 to 25 March 2026
Highgate Home Care provides personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, the service supported 149 people with a wide range of needs, including older people, those with physical disabilities and long-term conditions, across several localities.
People and relatives consistently described caring, respectful staff who built trusting relationships and made a real difference to daily life. Staff were often praised for their reliability, compassion and for noticing subtle changes in people’s wellbeing, with one person telling us, “[Staff] always see the little things that matter.”
People told us they felt safe and well supported by regular carers who understood their routines and preferences. Staff demonstrated a strong commitment to promoting independence, encouraging people to do what they could while offering sensitive help where needed. Relatives described feeling assured that staff acted promptly when concerns arose, and said communication with the office was straightforward and responsive.
People experienced consistent staffing and valued the continuity this provided. Staff described strong teamwork and said they were proud of the support they delivered. The culture was open and person‑centred, with a shared emphasis on keeping people safe, maximising independence and maintaining people’s quality of life. The service maintained a positive, supportive ethos with clear commitment from managers and staff to ongoing improvement.
The service had clear strengths in its caring culture and in the dedication of local managers and care teams, who were described by staff as supportive and approachable. Staff felt able to raise concerns. One said, “[Managers] always listen and act when something isn’t right.” The provider had structured audit processes, increasing oversight from senior leaders, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
However, governance and documentation systems were not always effective. We found inconsistencies in care planning, capacity recording and medicines documentation, including missing or incomplete risk assessments and gaps in how clinical or specialist guidance was recorded. These issues meant important risk information was not always readily available to staff at the point of care. Safeguarding processes were understood by staff, although one safeguarding concern had not been notified to CQC at the time of inspection. The registered manager took immediate action to address these matters once highlighted.