Care By Us - North London & West Hertfordshire

People were supported to learn how to take risks safely and protect themselves from the risk of abuse. This was in addition to staff being well trained and knowledgeable about safeguarding procedures and how to report their concerns.

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.

People told us how grateful they were for staff supporting them to live in their homes. Staff were trained and supported to meet the diverse needs of people including those related to disability, gender, ethnicity, faith and sexual orientation. These needs were recorded in care plans and all staff we spoke with knew the needs of each person well.

The provider operated a bespoke training programme developed and adapted to provide staff with in-depth knowledge about legislation, approved best practice guidelines and health conditions people using the service lived with. The training programme focused on practical face to face training in an environment specially adapted by the provider to resemble the type of environment people they supported lived in.

The provider and staff were passionate in enabling people to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible and they used assistive technology to promote safety. The effective use of innovative technology had measurable impact on vulnerable people at risk of dehydration and those at risk of getting lost when leaving their home.

People received personalised care and support, and this was flexible to fully meet their needs. The provider yearly budgeted a large sum to enable them throughout the year to provide free of charge bespoke services, equipment and often, household goods to people who could not continue to live at home without this.

The provider developed services for people who were at risk of social isolation. They commenced pet therapy support and offered this service free of charge to people who missed having pets to stroke and talk to and these had many positive benefits for people. They also looked after people's pets when they were no longer able to so that people continued to enjoy the company of their animals.

People told us they were supported by a stable staff team who they developed good relationships with. They told us staff were extremely caring and often they went over and above their professional duties. This made people feel valued and safe living in their own homes.

The provider effectively planned and tested their ability to provide an undisrupted service to people in case of extreme weather conditions or other unforeseen events. They purchased special vehicles they could drive staff around in case of floods or snow. They also worked closely with the local fire service to ensure people's homes were equipped with fire detection for early warning in case of a fire.

People had access to a 24/7 helpline which they could call for any emergencies they had. This gave reassurance to people who had no close relatives to deal with any household emergencies.

The provider developed a close working relationship with commissioners and local authorities from their catchment area to develop new services in response to the needs of people in the community. Commissioners and representatives from the local authority's social work team told us the support they received from the provider was invaluable. In their recent contract monitoring visit the provider achieved an 'Excellent' overall rating.

The provider's quality assurance systems were self-developed and tested all aspects of the service they provided. The systems were highly effective in identifying any issues or areas where improvement was needed to the quality of the service provided. The effectiveness of the monitoring systems were constantly tested and improved. This led to effective deployment and management of staffing resources across all their services with only 20 missed visits recorded in a year out of 1.2 million. The visits were marked as missed because staff were more than two hours late arriving at people's homes.

The provider was involved in developing and sharing best practise in their areas of expertise, often mentoring and supporting other providers of similar services. They were nominated and won several awards to recognise their contribution to improving people's life in the community. The provider ran several well- being programmes for their employees. The award schemes and development opportunities offered to their staff contributed to the development of a strong, dedicated and motivated staff team who adhered to the vision and the values promoted by the provider.