“I would happily put my mother into my home”. That comment from one of our managers captures what quality is all about. It comes from having well trained, dedicated staff who really bring care into our homes.
If you are looking for a home for yourself or a relative you will want to be confident of choosing one that offers a good standard of care. Similarly we at Four Seasons Health Care want to be sure that each of our homes is providing high quality care that meets our residents’ needs.
So how do you recognise quality?
There are regulatory bodies that conduct inspections and give homes quality ratings. In England we have the Care Quality Commission; in Scotland the Scottish Commission for Regulation of Care; in Wales the Care and Social Services Inspectorate and in Northern Ireland the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority.
Almost nine in every ten Four Seasons Health Care homes in England, around 88 per cent, are rated good or excellent in the latest Care Quality Commission inspection ratings. This positions Four Seasons as one of the highest quality care providers.
Quality ratings are given according to criteria such as quality of life for residents; choice and control; making a positive contribution; personal dignity and respect; freedom from discrimination and harassment; health and emotional well-being; leadership and management.
The ratings provide a useful indicator as to how good a home is. You can check the quality rating for homes online at the regulatory authority websites, or simply ask the homes managers.
It is worth remembering that ratings reflect what the inspectors found at a point in time. Since the inspection the home may have addressed any concerns raised and carried out any improvements recommended by the inspectors.
Four Seasons Health Care also carries out customer satisfaction research with our residents so each of our home managers has feedback on how well their customers think they are doing. We value these satisfaction surveys in helping us continuously to improve the quality of our service. The regulatory inspectors have the benefit of seeing a large number of homes so they are able to make comparisons, but they spend limited time in each home. Residents do not have the same ability to make comparisons with other homes, but they provide feedback based on spending a long time in their home. If choosing a care home it is a good idea to ask the home manager if they have a customer satisfaction survey and what sort of feedback they achieve.
An important aspect of defining quality is whether the home meets the requirements of its residents and potential customers. Care homes are registered for various categories of residents and will have appropriately trained and qualified staff. Examples of categories include homes for people requiring residential care who are reasonably mobile and need only minimal support, perhaps with bathing or dressing; those requiring more specialist support such as people who are physically frail or suffering from the onset of dementia, chronic neurological conditions; those in need of respite care, intermediate care and rehabilitation and those in need of terminal care.
As Maintenance Man at Hollycroft each day is different.
Maintenance, Hollycroft Care Home
Many thanks for going over and above your job. You are amazing people.
