Heritage Healthcare Ealing has been rated Outstanding overall by the Care Quality Commission.
The service, which is run by IDC Care Ltd, provides care to people in their own homes. It was rated as Outstanding for being well-led and caring. It was rated Good for being safe, effective and responsive, following an inspection in March 2018.
The agency provides a service to older people, including people with dementia and people being cared for at the end of their lives. It also provided support to younger adults with learning disabilities and people with physical disabilities.
People and their relatives were very pleased with the service. Some of the comments CQC received included, “I do not want any other service”, “Heritage is an excellent agency” and “They are the best I have ever used and I wish all staff from other agencies were trained to their standards”.
The culture of the organisation was exceptionally person centred. All the staff were caring and made individual efforts to make sure people using the service received personalised care.
The agency made sure people’s wishes and preferences about the way they wanted to be cared for at the end of their life, were respected. Where people wanted to stay in their own homes, rather than to be in hospitals, the agency made specific arrangements and liaised with other professionals to make this happen and to ensure people were as comfortable as possible in their own homes.
Staff often went the extra mile to make a difference in people's lives and to promote their independence in a way which reflected the values and visions of the organisation. For example, one person was partially sighted and wanted to remain independent& but found some tasks, such as &using their washing machine, challenging . The care worker used fluorescent stickers to help the person identify the buttons they needed to press so that they could use the washing machine independently.
All of the staff CQC spoke with said that there was excellent communication within the agency. One of the care workers said: “I used to work for another agency and they just told you what to do, it isn't like that here at all, they actually ask us and they listen.” Other care workers confirmed this and told us the agency had a supportive culture and that staff were able to work the hours they wanted, with enough travel time to attend all their calls on time.
One care worker told us, “I finish my last call late in the evening and one of the owners picks me up and drives me home so I do not have to get the bus.” All of the staff who gave CQC feedback explained that they would be happy with the service caring for a loved one.
The registered manager had established links with the local community to raise people’s awareness about dementia. They had worked with local dementia charities, attending workshops and improving their knowledge. Senior staff were qualified dementia champions and had signed up to the dementia friends scheme.
Debbie Ivanova, CQC’s Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, said:
“The evidence shows that Heritage Healthcare Ealing is providing high quality care and employing well trained motivated staff to look after its clients.
“The last time we inspected this provider it was rated Good overall. I am very pleased to see Good care improve to Outstanding care. The management and staff deserve fulsome praise.”
You can read the report in full when on our website.
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I am very pleased to see Good care improve to Outstanding care
Debbie Ivanova, Deputy Chief Inspector, Adult Social Care