About the service:

¿ The Good Care Group is a domiciliary care service providing care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection there were 250 people using the service, the majority older people living with a diagnosis of dementia.

People’s experience of using this service:

¿ People using the service were consistent in their view that the service was unique in its delivery of care and delivered outstanding care. Typical comments included, “Wonderful service. I do not feel I could survive without them” and “Excellent service that has truly given me a life line.”

¿ Health and social care professionals were equally impressed and said they had excellent working relationships with the service and felt that they were committed to supporting people to achieve the best outcomes possible.

¿ The service worked in partnership with health professionals and kept up to date with new research and developments in the field.

¿ There were champions within the service such as a specialist dementia nurses, Occupational Therapist and an independent clinical advisory board who provided clinical leadership in a number of areas.

¿ The provider was proactive in trying to mitigate against the risk of unnecessary hospital admissions. It demonstrated that people received a better quality of care when compared with residential care services.

¿ The provider encouraged positive risk taking which promoted people’s independence and their right to choose how they wished to be cared for.

¿ People received excellent care from care workers who were skilled in their roles. They provided people with emotional support and enabled them to lead independent and fulfilling lives.

¿ Care plans were individual and met the needs of people using the service.

¿ An independent investigations officer ensured that investigations into any incidents or complaints were robust and objective.

¿ there was an extremely high level of engagement with people, their relatives and staff. The provider was keen to get feedback so they could improve the service and the experience of people.

¿ Checks on the quality of the service were thorough and focussed on how they could achieve better outcomes for people.

¿ The service was an excellent role model for other services. It worked in partnership with others to promote positive experiences for people based on good practice.

¿ The provider was involved in numerous community initiatives, in partnership with other health and social care organisations.

¿ The service met the characteristics for a rating of “Outstanding” in all the key questions we inspected. Therefore, our overall rating for the service after this inspection was “Outstanding”.

¿ More information is in our full report.

Rating at last inspection:

¿ At our last inspection, the service was rated “Outstanding”. Our last report was published on 15 September 2016.

Why we inspected:

¿ This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up:

¿ We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned for future dates as per our re-inspection plan.

This inspection took place on 15 and 16 June 2016 and was announced.

The Good Care Group is registered as a domiciliary care agency providing live-in homecare to people. At the time of this inspection the service was providing care and support to 215 people nationally. The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People receiving a service were safe because staff were trained to identify signs of abuse and knew what actions to take if they suspected it. People were protected from the risks of preventable harm as a result of the provider’s robust risk assessment and risk management procedures. Staff were recruited safely with extensive checks undertaken to ensure their suitability to work with people. Staff supported people to take medicines safely and record medicines administration appropriately.

People received support from staff who were trained by experts. Staff undertook specialised training to meet the needs of people living with dementia and Parkinson’s and who had experienced strokes. People’s consent was obtained before care was given and people received care in accordance with mental capacity legislation. The provider was highly effective in liaising with healthcare professionals and following best practice in meeting people’s needs. People were supported to maintain nutritious diets and received the support they required to eat and drink safely.

Staff supporting people were described as caring and compassionate. People who were at the end of their lives received high quality care that enabled them to live at home with dignity, without pain and in accordance with their wishes. People were treated with respect and their privacy and choices were respected.

The provider was exceptional in its responsiveness to people’s changing needs and prevented unnecessary hospital admissions through its flexible service delivery. The provider actively sought feedback from people and responded to it enthusiastically and creatively. People’s needs were regularly assessed and people were at the centre of their care plans. People engaged in a wide range of activities of their choosing.

The provider demonstrated excellence in leadership. Staff felt committed to the provider’s vision and values and involved in how the service developed and improved. Evidenced based practices were promoted and examples of the best staff practices were celebrated. The leadership team was proactive in its response to trends revealed by its detailed analysis of incidents. The provider worked closely in partnership with a range of providers and agencies and engaged extensively in raising dementia awareness beyond the health and social care sector.