Archived: Helping Hands Guildford

Updated 27 October 2022

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 one inspector and two Experts by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

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 service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 31 August 2022 and ended on 12 September 2022. We visited the location’s office on 31 August 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we held since the service’s registration. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service and 11 relatives to hear about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine members of staff including the registered manager, a care and training practitioner and carers. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care plans and risk assessments, and three people’s medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, were reviewed.

Updated 27 October 2022

About the service

Helping Hands Guildford is a homecare agency providing care to people in their own homes. The service is registered to provide care to older people, people living with sensory impairments, mental health needs, dementia, physical disabilities and learning disabilities and/or autistic people. 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. There were 24 people receiving personal care at the time of the inspection.

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.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Right Support:

Staff supported people to live as independently as possible and be in control of their daily lives. People were provided with a choice in all their decision-making and families were involved where they wanted to be. People’s risks in relation to their care were managed and staff understood how to maintain people’s independence. There were sufficient staff to cover visits and people told us that they were generally on time with no missed visits. Where staff had arrived late for their calls, the registered manager tracked this and people were informed. We were assured that the service were following good infection prevention and control procedures to keep people safe.

Right Care:

People and their relatives told us they felt supported by staff in a kind, caring and dignified way. People’s differences were respected by staff and they had undertaken relevant training to effectively support people. People told us that the care was generally consistent and that staff knew them well. People’s right to privacy was respected and staff encouraged people to provide feedback about the care provided. Care plans were personalised and included information on people’s healthcare needs, preferences and hobbies. Care plans included information on the support staff provided in relation to oral care.

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.

Right Culture:

The culture of the service was open, inclusive and empowered people to live independent lives. People and their relatives were complimentary about the service, and felt their ideas and concerns would be listened to by the management team. People told us they felt that staff had helped them become more confident and independent where this was possible. Management had undertaken audits to look at ways of improving the service and identifying issues. Staff were generally complimentary about the registered manager and told us they were able to raise concerns.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 18 May 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.