Background to this inspection
Updated
3 July 2019
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection team consisted of one 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.
The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means the provider is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. An application had been submitted to CQC and was being processed.
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 17 June 2019 and ended on 20 June 2019. We visited the office location on 17 June 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection-
We spoke with five people who use the service and two relatives about their experience of the service. We spoke with the provider, manager, one co-ordinator, and three care staff.
We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and associated records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including surveys and quality assurance records.
Updated
3 July 2019
About the service
The Helping Hand Care Company Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing care to 69 people in their own homes. Of these, 50 people were receiving personal care.
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
People were supported by kind and compassionate staff who knew them well. People and their loved ones told us having consistent and caring staff helped maintain their dignity. People and their loved ones were encouraged to plan their own care and support.
People’s support was personalised, and people told us staff supported them in their preferred way. End of life care plans were in place and a new care plan for the small details was being introduced. Complaints were responded to well and action was taken to reduce reoccurrence.
People were encouraged to stay safe and staff knew how to report any concerns. People were supported to understand risks and involved in planning ways to minimise them. People’s medicines were managed safely, and infection control measures were in place. Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff to cover all visits to people.
People were supported to stay healthy. Staff supported them to have enough to eat and drink and contacted health professionals when appropriate. Staff worked with other agencies flexibly to improve people’s care and 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.
There was a clear vision which all staff shared, focussed on people receiving personalised and quality care. People and staff told us the provider and manager were open and listened to any concerns or ideas. People completed annual surveys the outcome of which was shared with people and staff. Regular audits were completed to monitor the quality of the service, these were used for learning and to drive improvement. Staff worked with other professionals and community groups to meet people’s health and social needs.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (last report published 19 June 2018.)
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.