Bedford's only independent care agency awarded outstanding by CQC

Bloom & Care offers clients in Bedford with a comprehensive service of care, within the comfort of their own homes. Rated outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the care provider offers a flexible, efficient, and professional service, which is tailored to meet each person’s individual needs.

Focusing on person-centred care and support, Bloom & Care enables clients to remain independent within their own homes. To find out more about Bloom & Care, visit: https://www.bloomandcare.co.uk/

Read the full CQC report – https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-3965046139/inspection-summary

Bloom & Care, an award-winning Bedford-based home care provider, has been rated outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). It is the only independent home care provider in Bedfordshire to receive this, joining only 5% of adult social care providers nationwide. The care provider was founded in 2017 by sisters Jessica Graziano and Kirsty Miceli, after finding there was a lack of care services in the local area for their grandfather. With a nursing background, they were able to put their skills to the test and provide compassionate care and support to clients in their own homes.

The CQC is an independent regulator of health and social care in England. Receiving an outstanding score at inspection means that Bloom & Care has gone above and beyond what’s expected of it. The report said: “There was strong leadership which put people first. Staff were very caring and knowledgeable about how best to communicate with people and to advocate for them to ensure their views were heard. There was a strong culture within the service of treating people with dignity and respect and staff spent time getting to know people and their specific needs before they provided them with care and support.”

One client shared with the inspector, “I look forward to the girls coming, they are all so happy and cheerful and it’s like a natural tonic.” Another told them, "I think the service is excellent and feel fortunate to have them to look after me.”

Relatives echoed these sentiments. One client expressed, "We are fully involved. We are listened to, and we have a voice, and our views and opinions are always respected."

Jessica Graziano, registered manager at Bloom & Care, said: “Achieving an Outstanding rating is an amazing achievement by our small, family-run business – it’s the Michelin Star of the care world! This is not only recognition for us, but also for our exceptional team of community care assistants, who work diligently to provide the best care possible for our clients, ensuring they promote their independence and have full control over their care needs.”

Kirsty Miceli, care manager, added: “To be rated outstanding in our second inspection is a real career highlight. I am so proud that we have been recognised for our person-centred care; our clients and our people are at the heart of our business and key to any decisions that we make, and we are truly a people-based organisation.”

Bloom & Care has also been ranked in Homecare’s top 20 care home providers in the East of England for the last four years, with a 10/10 rating on the Homecare website. In 2022, Jessica was recognised regionally and nationally for the Registered Home Care Manager Award, the judges stated: “Wow is the only way to describe Jessica’s enthusiasm and passion to make a difference from seeing what needed to be done to improve home care to become a winning company in such a short space of time.”