Background to this inspection
Updated
26 August 2023
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
Registered Manager
This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service under 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be available to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 11 July 2023 and ended on 25 July 2023. We visited the location’s office on 11 July 2023.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
During the inspection
We spoke with 4 people who used the service and 3 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 6 members of staff including the registered manager, care co-ordinator and care workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at records in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.
Updated
26 August 2023
About the service
Helping Hands Stalybridge is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older people and younger adults with various needs. At the time of this inspection 42 people were using the service.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.
At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.
Right Support:
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Care plans were detailed and person-centred. The care plans provided guidance for staff about how best to support people's needs and preferences, and the outcomes to be achieved. People and relatives were involved in the care planning and regular reviews. People’s communication needs were met. Care plans included people's end of life wishes.
Right Care:
People received kind and compassionate care. Staff understood and responded to people’s individual needs. People were protected from the risks of abuse and staff were trusted to keep them safe. Staff had received training in how to safeguard people. Medicines were managed safely. Staff had to undertake training before they could administer medicines and received competency checks to ensure they administered medicines safely. People's care needs were risk assessed and care plans provided staff with the information they needed to manage the identified risk. Accidents and incidents were recorded and managed appropriately.
Staff were recruited safely and had the necessary safety checks in place before starting work. The provider had systems in place to monitor staffing levels and ensure people received their visits. Staff had received an induction when they first started working at the service and training relevant to their roles had been provided. Staff had regular training and opportunities for supervision [one to one support sessions with their line manager].
Right Culture:
Staff placed people's wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. Staff had received training in equality and diversity, and they were committed to ensuring people were treated well. Staff knew people's history and preferences and used this knowledge to support them in the way they wanted. People were involved in making decisions about their day-to-day care. People were treated with dignity, privacy and respect. People’s independency was encouraged where possible.
People and their relatives’ views had been sought through regular contact, surveys and quality monitoring.
Governance systems were in place to monitor the standard of care people received. Staff had regular contact with people and completed regular reviews, meetings and quality checks, which also reviewed the quality of care people received. Various auditing systems were in place.
The registered manager and staff demonstrated a commitment to people, and they displayed person-centred values. Staff praised the registered manager and wider management team, they felt supported in their roles.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Rating at last inspection and update
This service was registered with us on 17 March 2021 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.