Home Instead East Dorset & Blandford

“Date of Assessment 14 to 21 May 2025. Home Instead East Dorset Blandford is a care at home agency that provides personal care to people living in their own homes. CQC only inspects where people are receiving the regulated activity personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we consider any wider social care provided. At the time of this inspection, 30 people were receiving support with personal care. Staff, known as ‘care professionals’, treated people with exceptional kindness and compassion. They treated people as individuals and were excellent in how they made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. The provider and registered manager always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and were exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience. Leaders were visible, knowledgeable and supportive, helping staff develop in their roles.Medicines were well managed. Staff sought consent from people before they delivered care. When people did not have the capacity to consent and make decisions about their care, staff had involved the people closest to them to make sure decisions were made in their best interest and were the least restrictive. Staff monitored people’s health and worked well with other agencies to ensure the best outcomes for people.The provider had robust systems in place to ensure people could access the health support they needed. The provider and staff had a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and trust. Staff felt encouraged to be open and supported to give feedback and were treated well when they did so. There were clear arrangements for accountability and staff understood their roles and responsibilities. Managers worked with the local community to ensure they delivered the best possible care and were receptive to new ideas. There was a culture of continuous improvement with staff given time and resources to try new ideas. We asked the provider to sum up the culture of their service in three words they said, “I found this hard as there are so many words, but…personalised, compassionate and empowering.” Staff told us they felt proud to work for the provider and registered manager. They said, “I really do feel proud I feel I am able to offer appropriate care and 1:1 support without feeling rushed. I thoroughly enjoy working here. It has been very interesting and rewarding.””