- Homecare service
Empathy Care (IOW)
Assessment report published 22 October 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
About the service
Empathy Care (IOW) is a domiciliary care service providing support to people living in their own homes. At the time of our visit, care was provided to people living in a shared building where the office was located, but the service would support people in the community within a defined radius of the office. Not everyone who used the service was receiving a regulated activity. Those that were received the regulated activity of personal care, that is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and nutrition. At the time of our assessment, the service was providing personal care to 3 people.
Who the service is for
This service supports adults with physical disabilities or mental health support needs who are living in their own homes.
Key findings
We carried out this assessment on 9 October 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 service demonstrated outstanding practice in its consistently person-centred approach. People benefited from a longstanding, happy and stable staff team. Staff knew people exceptionally well, identified subtle changes in their health and wellbeing, and acted promptly to ensure they were supported. Risk management was highly personalised and enabled people to remain in their own homes and live full lives without unnecessary restriction.
People experienced care that supported them to feel safe, respected and in control of their daily lives. Staff provided unhurried care, respected people’s preferences, and worked creatively to promote and support independence. External professionals spoke highly of the service with 1 describing it as, “person centred, caring and professional.”
Staff received regular training tailored to the needs of the people they supported. One person assured us, “They know what they are doing.” Recruitment checks were completed, and staff said supervision gave them opportunities to raise any suggestions or concern. These arrangements ensured staff had the knowledge and confidence to provide a high standard of care. One staff member said, “You get to know them so well.” Another told us, “Everyone's illness is unique to them - everyone is different. Everyone's way of support is different. You find what is right for them.”
Staff understood their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding. They worked closely with health and social care professionals to support people's health and wellbeing.
People received safe support with their medicines. People were enabled to administer their own medicines if this was their preference and they were able to do so safely.
Leaders promoted an open, inclusive culture in which staff felt valued. Staff told us the registered manager was “very approachable” and her “door is always open.” Staff spoke of strong teamwork and pride in their work for the difference it made to people. Staff had been supported to access additional training and to complete further qualifications. One staff member told us, “Empathy Care is a good company to work for and I am happy here.” Another said, “I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else. I love it.”
Learning from audits and feedback was used to improve practice. There were effective systems of governance and oversight that promoted safety and delivered positive outcomes for people.
People's experience of this service
People shared consistently positive experiences of the service. They described staff as reliable, skilled, polite and helpful. They told us support was provided by a consistent team who understood their individual needs and respected their wishes. One person said, “They are lovely, they really look after you.” Another shared, “They go out of their way all the time. Whatever you need, they are just great.” People felt secure and were confident support would be available when needed. One person told us, “I’m quite sure if I needed anything they would be there without any question.” Another said, “You couldn’t wish for a better team.”
People felt listened to and in control of their care. One person said, “They only do what I ask them to do” while another said, “I couldn’t ask for more.” Feedback showed staff respected people’s choices, gave them time to manage tasks independently and adapted support as their needs changed.
People’s feedback demonstrated high levels of trust, satisfaction and confidence in the service.