An Island domiciliary care agency has received an ‘outstanding’ rating for its caring service following a recent inspection by a health watchdog.
Overall, Carewatch Isle of Wight, was rated as ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after an inspection of its services in May.
In the four other areas, the inspection is rated on — safety, effectiveness, responsiveness and well-led service — the care agency received ‘Good’ scores.
Staff ‘demonstrated a real empathy for the people they care for
Inspectors found that the 120 people registered with the service at the time of inspection ‘benefitted from management and staff who were committed to ensuring they received a service that was exceptionally caring’ where staff ‘demonstrated a real empathy for the people they care for and spoke of people in a kind, respectful and fond way’.
A relative of a person who received care told inspectors the carers went ‘over and above what is expected’ — with multiple times carers have helped people in their own time, taking them on outings, arranging new furniture and redecoration and, in one instance, finding a way to help someone watch ballet.
The staff are “getting it just right”
Speaking to people who received care, inspectors heard staff understood people’s needs well.
One said,
“[The staff] are getting it just right. They listen to me and the detail of how I want to be supported”
One area of improvement identified was the retention of staff — seen in a relative’s comments when they said the service was understaffed, which sometimes led to only one carer arriving when two were needed.
Inspectors were told more emphasis was being placed on recruiting the right staff.
Outstanding goal achieved
Manager of the Island branch of Carewatch, Claire Martin, said since stepping into the position it had always been her goal to receive an outstanding rating.
She said,
“Even though the overall rating remains ‘Good’ it is still an amazing achievement to receive an ‘Outstanding’ in Caring, especially in these testing and uncertain times.
“I have an excellent team of care workers and I feel this shows in receiving this. Each and every one of them should feel immensely proud of themselves.”
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is part of. Read here to find about more about how that scheme works on the Island. Some alterations and additions may have been made by News OnTheWight. Ed
Image: funfilledgeorge under CC BY 2.0
