Home Instead gets ‘outstanding’ rating

Home care provider, Home Instead, has been awarded an outstanding rating for the second time in a row.

For the second year in a row, Home Instead Senior Care Durham has received an ‘Outstanding’ rating from the Care Quality Commission. This is a significant achievement as only 2% of adult and social care providers have achieved this top rating from the CQC.

The CQC rates care providers in an Ofsted-like fashion and creates a longer-form description of the care that people receive. This rating gives customers a clear indication of what they can expect from the provider, helping them choose the option that best meets their needs. CQC has been rating care providers since 2015.

Home Instead in Durham was commended particularly highly for the levels of care it delivers. Its caregivers were noted for going above and beyond the call of duty to help clients, while the management team was praised for making sure the clients are always healthy, safe and happy. Many of its staff have been called ‘lifesavers’ by the community, and this commendation is an official sign of the hard work its team put in each and every day.

To give an example of Home Instead Durham’s work ethic, one staff member cancelled holiday when a colleague was sick because they didn’t want a client with dementia to be without care, commenting that the client, “needed continuity more than I needed a trip away”.

Home Instead Durham specialises in providing care for people with dementia and elderly people with other support needs. It runs a number of initiatives to help improve the wellbeing of its clients and elderly people in the community, such as a monthly memory café, where people can get together and enjoy activities or get extra support and advice if they want it. Staff who are caring for people with dementia are required to undertake City & Guilds accredited Alzheimer’s training.