Chesterfield Home Care Ltd Also known as Home Instead

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

At our last assessment we rated this key question outstanding. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

Care records were written in a person-centred way. Daily notes showed people were supported in line with their preferences. For example, one record described how a staff member found a person still asleep on arrival and recognising their usual routine and preferences put the kettle on before they woke up. This demonstrated a thoughtful and personalised approach to care. A professional shared, “The service works well in maintaining a person-centred approach and promoting individuals’ dignity, independence, and wellbeing.”

Relatives confirmed their loved ones received person centred and compassionate care. One relative told us, “Carers understand [family member] needs and changing moods and know just how to support them, know how to communicate with them. They have had appropriate training.” And, “Carers know what they are doing, confident, professional as well being a friend.”

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

The provider actively advocated on behalf of people to ensure they received appropriate funding and access to services that reflected their assessed needs. This helped to promote positive outcomes and ensured people received the right level of support.

People were satisfied that the care they received. Feedback included, “Staff have given me quite a lot of help, no issue about the time they stay. [They] have helped me to remain in my own home.” And, “[Staff] always stay their allocated time, always ask if there’s anything extra they can do to help me. I am entirely satisfied with the help I get.” Daily care records showed staff took time to meet both people’s physical and emotional wellbeing needs.

Professionals spoken with confirmed effective partnership working and described the service as working collaboratively with health and social care agencies to coordinate care and support.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

People confirmed service information was easy to access. One person said, “I can look into their system booklet, easy to follow. Out of hours number given to me when I started.”

The provider had effective arrangements in place for the safe management of information and demonstrated a proactive approach to information governance and cyber security.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

Communication systems were in place, including the use of an app, an electronic message book and a central email address. Overall, people and relatives told us these arrangements worked well and felt informed and connected with the service.

The provider also sought feedback through surveys, creating further opportunities for people to share their experiences and influence service improvement. A complaints policy and procedure were in place, and people knew how to raise concerns if required.

Feedback included, “Managers do listen if you have an issue with a carer and deal with it,” and “I spoke to one of the managers [about an issue], they listened and understood.”

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

The provider demonstrated a commitment to broadening the reach of the service and improving accessibility. For example, exploring opportunities to support people living in more rural areas who may face additional barriers in accessing care and support and robust business continuity planning to ensure people received their care calls in emergencies, and adverse weather.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

There was also a strong commitment to advocating on behalf of people using the service, particularly those who may be more vulnerable to abuse or exploitation. The provider recognised the risks faced by some of the people they supported and demonstrated a proactive approach to raising awareness to help protect and support this client group. For example, involvement in initiatives to promote financial scam awareness.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

Overall, people’s formal arrangements and key decisions for end-of-life care were documented. However, whilst information about what was important to people, such as religious and cultural needs, was recorded in other care plans, we found this did not always pull through into end-of-life care planning. The registered manager agreed to review and capture this consistently.

Staff consistently demonstrated compassion, kindness and genuine care in their interactions with people. They spoke warmly and respectfully about those they supported, evidencing strong and meaningful relationships. We also saw how this commitment to dignity and person-centred care was maintained during particularly sensitive times, including when providing end-of-life care and support.