A home care company whose clients described them as ‘like family’ has received the highest possible rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Home Instead Newcastle upon Tyne is owned and run by married couple Cath and Andrew Fullerton, a former nurse and a former policeman, who put family at the heart of everything they do.
Every caregiver hired has to pass the ‘mum test’ which asks, would they want this person looking after their own mum?
And evidently it pays off as the service, which specialises in looking after older people in their own homes, has been rated outstanding.
Cath worked as an NHS nurse for 30 years and brings a wealth of experience to her care business.
“I worked in A&E for 25 years, so I had a lot of experience of discharging older people and I know how important it is that they have the right care in place,” she said.
“At the end of the day, their own home is where most people want to be.
“It was a big decision to leave my nursing career but I knew that by bringing Home Instead’s ethos to Newcastle I could make a huge difference to older people’s lives whilst bringing peace of mind to their families.
by having a quality care business in Newcastle, I could make a huge difference to older people’s lives.
The CQC report describes how Cath and Andrew’s caregivers form strong bonds with the people they look after, who ‘consistently described staff as friends or members of the family’.
One client who spoke to inspectors said: “I see them as friends. They are very gracious with their time. At Christmas two of my caregivers came in their own time.”
A relative of another client said: “We visited a number of places when choosing care for my mum but this one stood out. It was as if they were caring for their own mother.”
Caregivers were praised for going above and beyond to help their clients engage with the community and improve their wellbeing.
One encouraged a client to go back to church after a period of not attending, reconnecting them with the community, and another supported a client who had become very isolated to attend a history group.
Andrew says that they were delighted to have been rated outstanding.
“To read all the positive feedback from our lovely clients has been amazing, and we are so proud of the wonderful relationships they have with their caregivers,” he added.
“We have got some great staff, and that is really the key. We think of ourselves as one big family, and that our clients feel like part of the family is the most important thing.”
Only two per cent of adult social care providers have been rated outstanding since the introduction of CQC’s new Ofsted-style approach to inspection and regulation in 2015.
Part of a national network of over 190 offices, Home Instead is now firmly established as the leading home care provider for the elderly. Nationally Home Instead holds a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Innovation in recognition of the company’s innovative care model, which places clients at the heart of the care they receive and includes matching clients to caregivers based on shared interests.
