Gray Healthcare awarded ‘Outstanding’ for being caring in latest CQC report
Gray Healthcare has been awarded ‘outstanding’ in the caring domain and rated ‘good’ overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an inspection by the regulatory body during October and November 2021.The report, published this week, praised the clinical team for their innovative practice and for being an ‘exceptionally caring service’ demonstrated by the ‘kindness, privacy, dignity, respect, compassion and support’ showed to the people they support in their own homes.
The Gray Healthcare team also received special recognition in the report for empowering individuals and their families to be partners in all aspects of their care planning and for encouraging genuine engagement, including undertaking voluntary work and vocational training, within their local communities. The CQC were also impressed with the company’s partnership with national canine charity, Support Dogs, for pet therapy to improve wellbeing and the use of tools such as the talking mat, a physical aid that helps individuals with communication difficulties express themselves.
Gray Healthcare provides bespoke packages of care for people with complex mental health conditions, Autism, learning disabilities or an acquired brain injury (ABI) delivered within their own homes. The focus of the service is on recovery and rehabilitation and offering individuals, some of whom have spent many years in hospital settings, the opportunity to lead a fulfilling life in the community setting of their choice.
The CQC is the independent regulator for all health and social care services in England. An inspector will spend time directly observing the care given and talking to people using the service, their families and members of staff in order to assess how well a provider is performing against five specific standards that measure the safety and quality of care delivered. In this latest report, Gray Healthcare achieved a rating of ‘good’ for four domains, and ‘outstanding’ for the caring domain.
Also in their report, the CQC highlighted other positive aspects of the relationship between the people Gray Healthcare support, their families and their support teams:
- ‘Clients told us they were truly valued at Gray Healthcare, staff understood them and what they could achieve and that they had achieved much more than being cared for in long-term care. Clients told us they had been supported to find a home to suit their needs… that they went out to do shopping, cooked their own meals, ate healthily and enjoyed a variety of activities. Client said they were pursing hobbies and visiting places of interest to them.’
- ‘Feedback from clients, families, unpaid carers and stakeholders was continually positive about the way staff treat people. Feedback received was that staff go the extra mile and their care and support exceeds their expectations.’
- ‘Clients told us staff were caring, respectful and supportive…Staff and relatives told us their personal communication styles, preferences and abilities were understood and that staff were patient with them.’
- ‘Staff were described as honest, understanding, respectful, outstanding, supportive, caring and friendly.’
- ‘Families told us they saw positive changes in their family members since discharge from long-term care, for example, being involved in activities again, showing a sense of humour, reading, going out and spending time with other siblings and relatives.’
Clinical Director, Neil Berrington says: ‘We’re delighted to have received an overall rating of ‘good’ from CQC once more and absolutely over the moon that we received an ‘outstanding’ rating for being caring. This rating is thanks to all the fantastic work put in by each and every member of the team to make sure that we provide the best care we can to the people we support and their families. As we move forwards, we will build upon these positive inspection outcomes and continue to expand our innovative practice approaches.’