Home care company praised by industry watchdog

A COMPANY offering home care for adults has been praised in its first inspection by the industry watchdog.

Be Well Care Henley, which was founded in March last year, received a “good” rating in all areas including the safety, leadership and effectiveness of the service and how caring and responsive it was.

The company, which is based off Newtown Road and has seven staff, specialises in dementia care and can help with end-of-life assistance. It also offers to help with housekeeping, cooking and preparing meals and personal care, such as dressing and washing.

The Care Quality Commission carried out the inspection in July with 48 hours’ notice. The inspectors asked clients about the quality of the service and staff about how they were supported.

The inspection report says: “People were kept safe from abuse and harm and staff knew how to report any suspicions concerning abuse.

“Risk assessments identified how potential risks should be managed to reduce the likelihood of people experiencing harm.

“We saw that supervision meetings for staff were held regularly and staff felt supported by the management to perform their role.

“People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff provided them with care in the least restrictive way possible and acted in their best interests.

“Care plans were regularly reviewed and people and their relatives were involved in the reviews. People felt they were treated with kindness and said their privacy and dignity were always respected.”

Director Richard Knopwood said: “We are really pleased. We want to provide a high standard of domiciliary care and we also make sure we look after our carers.

“They are all supported well by senior management and receive training and encouragement.

“We are not resting on our laurels and we hope to grow in the next year. We don’t want to be too big and we need to make sure we are still doing things correctly.

“Feedback is absolutely crucial and just because people say the service is good you need to make sure you pick up on any little niggles. Even if you score nine out of 10 on an evaluation form, there is always something to improve on.”

Mr Knopwood said it had been a difficult year establishing the business during the coronavirus pandemic.

“It has been hard to get staff at times but Oxfordshire County Council and the Government have really helped us and always been positive,” he said. “We get free protective clothing and they have continued to give us grants. I have no complaints whatsoever.”