Caremark (Havering)

People and relatives told us the service they received was of a high standard and staff were safe, reliable, kind and compassionate. They could trust that staff and managers understood their needs and they felt engaged and involved in how the service was run.

The service had a key role in the local community and was passionately involved in supporting people to take part in activities and develop and maintain relationships. They worked in partnership with local charities to support people. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the provider initiated a befriending service for elderly people in the local area. The provider has been nominated for a national care award.

People and staff's equality characteristics were respected. Staff understood the importance of promoting equality, diversity and human rights.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were encouraged to maintain their independence.

There were procedures to protect people from abuse. Risks associated with their needs were assessed and staff understood how to reduce these risks. People were supported with taking their medicines by staff. Audits and spot checks took place to check staff had followed correct medicine procedures. There was a procedure to review and analyse accidents and incidents in the service to prevent reoccurrence. Staff followed safe practices to prevent and control infections.

Staff were recruited safely and their backgrounds checked before they started working for the service. People were supported with maintaining their health and nutrition. The service worked with health care professionals, to ensure their health needs were met. People's communication needs were understood by staff. People knew how to make complaints about the service.

Staff were supported with training and development to ensure their skills and knowledge were up to date. Staff felt well supported by the management team. Quality assurance systems included obtaining feedback from people and relatives.