Home Instead Senior Care is proud to announce that we are the first homecare provider to receive 3 Outstanding Ratings from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

As the UK’s Number 1 homecare franchise - we are delighted to announce the news that our Durham franchise has been rated Outstanding – making a hat-trick of the highest rating possible in the CQC’s Ofsted-style system for our model of care.

The 3^rd Outstanding Rating for our bespoke brand was brought home by our franchisee Trudi Jameson.

Trudi was inspired to set up her franchise in 2013 after her mother Glenys received poor quality care. Breakfast visits that took place at noon, visits missed entirely and being put into pyjamas at 5pm were just some of the undignified scenarios her mum experienced before she passed away.

Passionate about seeing care for older people that could be trusted 100%, Trudi started her franchise after being 100% convinced from her first enquiry that Home Instead was the homecare franchisor for her.

Said Trudi: “Support has been there from the very beginning, from my first afternoon I had the information and the facts to make my decision. I knew it was the franchise for me and was praying that the Durham territory was available.

“I did the due diligence of course and I had gathered 8 or 9 brochures from other brands. But when I went through them, Home Instead’s kept rising to the top of the pile. The quality, the one hour visits, the standards…it was everything I had wanted for my late mum.

“I knew if I was going to do a homecare franchise, if I was going to do it properly, I was going to do it with them. The training I had to get ready for opening my business was fabulous. It was effective and practical in equal measure. With every session I kept thinking wow…I can do this! National Office couldn’t have been more supportive to me as a fledgling franchisee and I know the team is there in a heartbeat now if I need anything.”

“Having an Outstanding rating is validation that we do what we say we do, we put the care back into caring,” said Trudi.

Her elderly clients and their families commended her standards of care to the CQC inspectors, with comments including: “Wonderful care” “There is nothing I would change” “This is as good as you can get” “They are like family” “I would recommend them to anyone they are marvellous. They are everything you would want if it were your parent.”  

CQC inspectors added: “Without exception, people were treated with compassion, respect and dignity by staff who built meaningful relationships with them.”

And they praised Trudi’s team of 40 CAREGivers and office team in turn, saying: “There was evidence of staff at all levels ‘putting themselves in the shoes’ of the people who used the service before making decisions.”

Debbie Westhead, Deputy Chief Inspector for Adult Social Care in the North, said: “The staff at Home Instead Senior Care Durham were providing an outstanding level of care to the people they supported. There was a real effort to get to know the people the service supported, taking the time to learn their history and care needs whilst developing a friendly relationship and ensuring that they were included in their care planning so they retained their independence.

“We received many positive comments about the service, how great the care was and how the relatives felt supported as well. Everyone at Home Instead Senior Care Durham should feel proud of the work they do.

“It is for this and many other reasons why the service has received the highest rating we can give.”

Three years on, Trudi cares for over 60 elderly clients across Durham, she added: “I cried when I read the CQC’s report. To have so many people, the inspectors, clients and relatives saying so many nice things about myself and my team was incredible.”

Ruth Brown, Head of Franchise Development, said: “Trudi is exactly the type of caring entrepreneur we look for to become part of Home Instead Senior Care, the UK’s Number 1 homecare franchise network. Our franchisees can

run a profitable business whilst making a difference to society at the same time. Congratulations to Trudi on this outstanding news, which marks a three year franchise success story in her territory.”