At-home care company, Home Instead Senior Care have been described as ‘absolutely fantastic’ and ‘one of the best companies to work for’ by the Care Quality Commission.

The ‘outstanding’ rating is the highest grade achievable from the CQC, the independent regulator of the care sector. Only 3 per cent of adult social care providers have achieved this rating since the introduction of CQC’s new Ofsted-style approach to inspection and regulation in 2015.

Home Instead Senior Care Stourbridge, Hagley and Halesowen was set up in 2012 by Lorna and Peter Bath. Their philosophy is simple; to provide a service which enables older people to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible, while improving their quality of life.

Lorna and Peter believe that their service stands out because the whole team passionately believe that the care they provide is tailored to the individual and caters for their social as well as their physical needs. Upon receiving the report, Lorna said:

“This is only possible thanks to our superb team, who are totally dedicated to providing the best care to our elderly clients and their families. We are incredibly proud of the team and are delighted that the report recognises their amazing work."

The CQC inspectors noted that the service ‘promoted a strong person-centred culture and was committed to making a positive difference to people’s lives.’ They also saw many examples of where caregivers had ‘facilitated special requests for people and made extra effort to make people happy.’

In one instance, a client had been keen to make some new friends and socialise with people in the community. In their own time, a caregiver researched a local bowls club and then arranged to bring the client to the club and help them engage in a new stimulating activity. Speaking about this achievement, Peter added:

“When we set up Home Instead, we wanted to give our community the choice of a different sort of care.  It’s not only about helping with basic needs.  It’s also about delivering what people really want, like supporting people with their hobbies and interests or getting out and about.  

"Our CAREGivers know this and they received some lovely feedback in this report.  One client said ’Excellent they are. Can’t speak highly enough about any of them.  They will do anything for me and are so nice and caring in the way they do things.’”

The Stourbridge, Hagley and Halesowen office of Home Instead provides care for 68 people living in the local area. For more information, call 01562 885589 or visit them online.