Support Hands Domiciliary Care Ltd

Updated 26 November 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.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

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

Inspection activity started on 1 November 2022 and ended on 9 November 2022. We visited the location’s office on 3 November 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we held and had received about the service. 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. We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity which took place on 5 October 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the director who is also the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included 2 people’s support plans and 1 person’s Medication Administration Record [MAR]. We looked at 1 staff file in relation to recruitment, training and supervision. We looked at a sample of the service’s quality assurance systems including medication and care plan audits.

Following the inspection to the domiciliary care service, we continued to seek further clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence found. We spoke to 1 staff member, 1 person using the service and 1 relative to obtain their feedback of their experience.

Updated 26 November 2022

About the service

Support Hands Domiciliary Care Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 2 people using the service.

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

At the time of inspection we found supervisions had not been carried out for a staff member. We have made a recommendation about staff supervisions.

People received their medicines as prescribed and on time. We have made a recommendation about a persons as required medicines (PRN).

Risks to people's health and wellbeing had been assessed and recorded, although the information was not always comprehensive. Environmental risks to people and staff had not been completed.

People told us they felt safe and well cared for, calls were received on time and people were informed if staff were delayed.

Staff were recruited safely and knew how to keep people safe from harm and there were enough staff to deliver care to people.

People told us staff wore Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when providing care and support.

People were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet. Meals and drinks of their choice were prepared for them.

Audits and quality assurance were in place but needed some improvement to ensure the service continually improved and provided positive outcomes for people.

People and their relatives told us they felt able to raise concerns and they would be listened and responded to.

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.

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

This service was registered with us on 21 February 2022 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.