Helping Hands Swindon

Updated 11 September 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 20 July 2018 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that representatives of the service would be available at the office.

The inspection site visit activity started on 20 July 2018 and ended on 20 July 2018. It included reviewing the records kept in the office and telephone interviews with people using the service. We visited the office location on 20 July 2018 to interview the manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an expert-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. The expert-by-experience who assisted with this inspection had experience in working with elderly people and people living with dementia.

Before the inspection we reviewed all the information we held about the service, including data about safeguarding and statutory notifications. Statutory notifications are information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We asked the local authority and other relevant professionals if they had any information to share with us about the services provided. Local authorities are responsible for monitoring the quality and funding for people who use the service.

We spoke with five people and six relatives of people using the service, three staff members, the head of home care and the area manager. The registered manager was on annual leave at the time of the inspection. We also obtained feedback from one health care professional working closely with the service.

We reviewed care plans for four people, four staff files, training records and records relating to the management of the service such as audits, policies and procedures.

Updated 11 September 2018

This inspection took place on 20 July 2018 and was announced. It was the first inspection of Helping Hands Swindon since the service had been registered with the Care Quality Commission in July 2017. We rated the service outstanding.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. People receiving care and support from the service are older adults. Not everyone using the service receives a regulated activity; the CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided.

At the time of our inspection, 36 people were supported with their personal care needs by the service.

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 registered manager was on annual leave at the time of the inspection.

All the people we contacted said they felt safe because they were supported by staff who knew their needs and were able to support them safely. There was a sufficient number of staff to meet people's needs; people confirmed staffing arrangements met their individual needs. Staff knew about their responsibilities to safeguard people and to report suspected abuse. Risks were identified and appropriate steps were taken to manage them. Robust recruitment procedures were followed to ensure only appropriate staff were recruited to work with vulnerable people. People received their medicines on time and in a safe way.

The management team and staff understood used the Mental Capacity Act (2005) (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and how these applied to their practice. People were supported by dedicated staff to maintain a well-balanced diet and they were provided with access to health professionals to make sure they were as healthy as possible.

People and their relatives spoke extremely positively about the outstanding care they received and described staff and the provider as extremely kind, caring and friendly. The amount of compliments, both verbal and written, was significant and showed how much people appreciated and recognised the impact of the high quality of care. People emphasized the fact that staff were caring and respectful.

People’s relatives confirmed staff showed a high level of compassion towards their family members. People told us the service was reliable and they were kept up to date with changes. Records were well written and individualised, and people had been involved in preparing them. People's privacy was respected and confidentiality was maintained. People were supported by compassionate and caring staff who followed their preferences.

The service was responsive to supporting people whose needs were complex and tended to change.

Care plans were personalised and centred on people's preferences, views and experiences as well as their care and support needs. People's history, family relationships and religious and cultural needs were taken into account.

People and their relatives were delighted with the kindness and thoughtfulness of staff, which exceeded their expectations of how they would be cared for and supported. People explained how staff went the extra mile for them and assured us they couldn't ask for anything more. People told us the support they received significantly improved their well-being. There was a complaints procedure in place and people felt confident to raise any concerns either with the staff or the registered manager if they needed to.

The service was responsive to people’s needs and wishes even if the support people needed proved to exceed their contracted hours. People also said this made a profound difference to their lives.

There was strong leadership with a clear set of values which ran through the service. People using the service and staff told us they were valued by the registered provider. There was a strong culture of staff working in partnership to achieve the best service possible for people using the service. Staff were very positive about their role within the organisation and told us they felt valued. They spoke highly of the strong management team and praised the quality and quantity of training available. Effective quality audit checks were in place and completed regularly to monitor the quality of the service provided.