Very positive report for Inverness care at home provider
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A CARE company that looks after people in their own homes received “very good” ratings for quality of support and leadership after a visit from the Care Inspectorate.
Highland Home Carers Ltd, based in Inverness’s Stadium Road, provides personal and practical support to adults with mental health problems, learning disabilities and physical disabilities.
Key messages from the inspection included:
n People had formed strong, trusting relationships with staff who were dedicated, kind and caring and strong advocates.
n Guardians and repre-sentatives of people supported were respected, listened to and central to the planning of care and support.
n There were comprehensive health systems in place to ensure people got the right care at the right time.
n The provider had robust quality assurance systems that supported and focused on service improvements.
n The provider should progress actions from their improvement plan, which included making use of advocacy services.
Inspectors said: “Value-based practice was threaded throughout the organisation. We observed staff supporting people with warmth, respect, and kindness.
“People felt safe when care was being delivered as there were strong, trusting relationships between staff and the people they supported.
“Staff advocated strongly for people so [that] they lived the best life they could.
“In conclusion, people experienced support that promoted their identity, independence, dignity, privacy and choice.”
The inspection found the service had had a very challenging time in regard to staff shortages and changeswithin staff teams, and a small number of families felt this had impacted on routines and communication could be improved.
“There were a few occasions when staff had shared ‘team grumbles’ with families inappropriately,” said the report. “We discussed this with the manager and are confident she will follow this up to ensure open and transparent value-based practice remains a focus.”
The report added: “The service was well led and managed. There was clear leadership within the service, there was a culture of openness and transparency. It was apparent leaders had a clear understanding of their role in monitoring, directing and supporting improvement.
“Feedback and wishes of people using the service were the primary drivers for change.Families felt leaders valued and listened to them and took appropriate action when issues were raised.
“The promotion of human rights was embedded in staff induction and training. There were dedicated members of staff who undertook ‘coaching’ with staff. This meant staff’s interactions were observed and then staff were told what they were doing well and what could be improved on when they were supporting people. This helped staff remain focused on delivering person centred care.”
However it was found that due to the challenges of staff shortages and recruitment, the provider had not managed to progress some of their improvement plan as they had hoped.
The report added: “We discussed the importance of prioritising areas of improvement within a realistic time frame to ensure improvement activities remained a focus. One of the areas of improvement was involving independent advocacy for people who did not have a legal guardian and this was made an area for improvement.”
