We carried out a review of the data available to us about Helping Hands Norwich on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Helping Hands Norwich, you can give feedback on this service.
Helping Hands is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people living in their own homes in the Norwich and wider area of Norfolk. Not everyone who used the service received the regulated activity of personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care; this is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where people do we also consider any wider social care provided. Therefore, whilst the service currently supports 115 people, only 51 of these were receiving personal care. This inspection therefore only focused on the service provided to these 51 people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Feedback from people using the service was positive and all the people we spoke with recommended the service.
People were protected from abuse, neglect and discrimination. Staff ensured people's safety and acted when necessary to prevent any harm. We found care plans and risks assessments were mostly thorough. However, we have made a recommendation to ensure all risk were assessed and monitored. People received their medicines according to prescriber's instructions and appropriate infection control practice was in place. Recruitment practice was thorough and ensured there were enough staff of appropriate character to provide consistent support.
Staff received sufficient training and people said staff were skilled in providing their care. Staff monitored people's health and helped them access health and social care services whenever needed. 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.
People described the staff as caring and considerate. People were encouraged to actively participate in their care planning and were given opportunities to feedback on the service provided. The staff actively encouraged people's independence and dignity.
The care planning was person-centred and a responsive to people’s needs and preferences. People knew how to make complaints and any concerns raised were taken seriously and dealt with effectively.
The service had good leadership whom were reported to be approachable, empathetic and organised. The service had good governance systems in place and staff felt well supported. Quality assurance systems in place promoted risk management, learning and improvements.
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 ‘good’ (published 5 May 2017).
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.
There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
The service was safe. Staff had assessed risks to individuals and mitigated them appropriately. Staff were aware of safeguarding procedures and knew how to report any concerns they had. There were enough staff and people’s visits were always covered. Staff were recruited safely.
Staff supported people safely to take their medicines. Where needed, staff provided prompting for people to take their own medicines.
People were cared for by staff who knew them well and communicated effectively with them, building and maintaining trusting relationships. Staff received relevant training and were competent in their roles. They received supervisions regularly and felt supported at work.
People were involved and consulted about their care, and their independence, privacy and dignity was promoted. Staff sought consent before delivering care and were aware of individual’s mental capacity to make decisions.
Staff supported people to eat a healthy diet, and encouraged people to drink enough. They supported people to access healthcare services when required.
People received individualised care according to their own needs, and when they changed, staff responded in a timely manner. People and their families were asked for their feedback on the service they received and knew how to raise a concern and who to, if they needed to.
There was good teamwork and good leadership in place. Staff and the management team were supported well by each other and the organisation as a whole. There were systems in place to ensure that high quality care was delivered continuously.