Outstanding! | MacIntyre

Blog post

‘Outstanding in all 5 domains’ was the most wonderful news to receive from CQC and it felt absolutely amazing! I am so proud that people receive such fantastic support from so many dedicated staff who continuously go above and beyond.

I really wanted to ensure the CQC Inspection captivated all that I see on a regular basis in Warrington. MacIntyre invests so much in us all as individuals to be able to do the best job we can and it encourages so much creativity. There are so many local events that are dependent on others to arrange and organise, but it’s at these events, that are not commissioned, where Macintyre goes above and beyond to make a difference to people’s lives. It is not just the lives of people who receive a service from MacIntyre but other local people who engage with us at these events too.

As an example, this week I attended the MacIntyre Christmas Party and it reflected all that is great about MacIntyre – the wonderful outcomes for the people we support. The laughter, the singing, the dancing and all the fabulous Great Interactions that make such a difference to the lives of the people we support. The atmosphere was bursting with so much happiness and I couldn’t help but notice the gentle way a member of staff encouraged a person we support to dance. At first the person was a little reluctant but the member of staff accepted he didn’t want to dance on the dance floor so began to dance at the side of the dance floor. The person watched and slowly began nodding his head to the beat of the music. The staff member continued to observe and was extremely creative in encouraging the dance more by holding both his hands.

This then developed to a hip beat and he began to move his hips to the music ever so slightly, almost discreetly, continually being very focused on the member of staff all the time. This carried on for a few minutes and it was not long before they were in the centre of the dance floor enjoying the music and laughing together as they danced to the wonderful sound of a regular Christmas song. These are the kind of interactions that make such a difference time and time again. Had the staff member not encouraged the dancing the outcomes may not have been the same for the person. It takes real skill to know when to encourage a person and when not to. There were so many Great Interactions to share; the night was full of them!

Whilst at the Macintyre Christmas party a staff member from another provider came over to chat to me. He explained he saw in the local paper that MacIntyre received ‘outstanding’ from CQC. He said this did not surprise him because he thought MacIntyre staff were all amazing and explained that he and the person he is supporting have had such a wonderful time because of events such as this and congratulated all the staff for doing such an amazing job. I whole heartedly agreed with him: MacIntyre staff are super because they understand what is important to the people they support. This just supports our ‘Outstanding’ rating from CQC which is so well deserved and we are so thankful to receive.