Right at Home (Sutton and Epsom)

Updated 5 January 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service a short period of notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 9 November 2021 and ended on 18 November 2021. We visited the office location on 9 November 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection-

We spoke with the registered manager and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We reviewed four people’s care plans and medication records, and four staff files. We also reviewed incident and accident records, and complaints and compliments, and case studies.

After the inspection

We spoke with eight family members and three people who use the service. We spoke with six members of staff and two health professionals who work closely with the service. We reviewed a range of records including policies and procedures, meeting minutes, service audits and survey feedback reports. We reviewed induction and training records and quality assurance records.

Updated 5 January 2022

About the service

Right at Home (Sutton and Epsom) is a domiciliary and live in care service for people with physical disabilities, sensory impairments, people living with dementia or frailty. The service provides personal care to people living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of inspection 39 people were receiving personal care support from the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People told us they received an exceptional level of care and support that frequently exceeded their expectations. Staff were particularly intuitive and had been chosen by the service for their kind and caring natures. Staff had made it their priority to build trusting and friendly relationships with people and their families and had a good understanding of their practical, social and emotional needs.

Staff were well informed about risks to people, and followed detailed guidance to reduce these, whilst continuing to promote well being and independence for the people they support. The service predicted risk and acted to prevent issues before they arose. Staff were very knowledgeable about other services and equipment that could improve people's independence and referred to those in anticipation of people's needs. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

We saw many examples of how staff had acted to improve people’s lives, and had worked together with people to achieve the very best possible outcomes for people. People were central to all decisions made, and were encouraged to choose the way in which they were cared for and by whom, and developed strong relationships with staff they knew well and supported them regularly. Opportunities had been sought by staff to improve people's links with the community and the barriers removed that had prevented them from staying connected to others.

All of the people and families we spoke with praised the staff highly for their caring and kind natures. Many small acts of kindness and thoughtfulness made people feel happier and well cared for.

All the staff we spoke with told us they were incredibly proud to work for the organisation. They were highly valued and supported by the organisation, and received congratulations and awards as a thankyou for work well done. They were encouraged to get involved in making changes and improvements to the service, which would further enhance the quality of care for people. The management team, as well as being effective leaders for the service, also maintained their presence and relationship with clients, families and staff teams so that they were up to date and involved. They carried out support visits when needed to help support their team, and this boosted morale amongst the staff. Staff told us that the office team were as invested as the carers in providing the highest quality care.

Governance systems were robust and the management team analysed findings to continually make improvements to the service. Any issues with performance or quality were picked up straight away and acted on to prevent recurrence.

The culture in the service was one of transparency, openness, continuous learning and collaboration. Every person connected to the service that we spoke with felt involved, included and part of a team that were working together to enhance people’s lives on a daily basis. Staff going above and beyond expectations was considered usual practice by the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 11 October 2017)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.