Archived: Helping Hands of Harrogate Limited

Updated 6 August 2016

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.

The inspection took place on Monday 9 May 2016 and was carried out by one adult social care inspector. We gave the provider notice of our visit on Friday 6 May 2016 because the location provides domiciliary care and we wanted to be sure a member of the management team would be available to speak with us when we visited.

Before the inspection the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information we held about the service in the form of notifications received from the service. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We looked at previous inspection reports and the information provided to us by the local authorities and continuing health care teams who were involved with the care of children, young people and adults who used the service. In total we contacted 11 health and social care professionals for feedback.

Because of the age range and the complexity of the care needs of the young people currently receiving care we mainly spoke with relatives of people who received care from the agency. We spoke with six relatives by telephone to gain their views. During our visit to the agency office we met with two people who used the service together with a relative, support workers and a health care professional. We observed the interaction with staff and (where appropriate) the care and support two people received. We also reviewed some of the feedback people had given to the service to help inform our inspection.

We spoke with seven care workers, a registered nurse, the service development manager, and with two directors of the company, one of whom was also the registered manager. During the inspection visit we looked at care planning documentation for five people and other records associated with running a care service. This included three staff recruitment records, staff supervisions and appraisals and training records. We reviewed records required for the management of the service including feedback from service users and their families, quality assurance audits, the statement of purpose, the business plan, satisfaction surveys, meeting minutes and the complaints procedure.

Updated 6 August 2016

Helping Hands of Harrogate Limited is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care and support for children, young people and adults with a range of disabilities and complex health care needs. It provides services across North Yorkshire and the surrounding areas. At the time of our inspection the service was providing care and support for 49 people between eight months of age and 40 years old.

This inspection took place on 9 May 2016 and was announced. At the last inspection on 8 September 2014 the provider was meeting all the regulations that were assessed.

There was a registered manager in place. 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.

We found that the provider placed the children, young people and adults who used the service at the heart of the care they received. We noted the service encouraged positive risk taking and did not restrict people’s interests and encouraged them to try new things. For example, we heard of examples where life enhancing recreational opportunities had been created for children with complex health needs to go swimming, to attend school clubs and to dip their toes in the sea. Another person had been enabled to undertake their first experience of employment, which was their ideal goal.

The provider actively involved people who used the service and their families in the recruitment process and in staff training. Because care workers were recruited and trained to meet people’s specific care needs we saw that care teams were highly reflective of the shared interests, backgrounds and beliefs of the people who they supported. This approach was firmly underpinned by the culture of the service, which we established was positive, person centred, inclusive and forward thinking.

We spoke with a range of people who used the service, families, professionals and staff who all felt this was an excellent service. People described a confident and resourceful staff team who respected individual’s dignity, privacy, views and choices. In their feedback people particularly highlighted the quality of their relationships with their care team and they told us they valued the continuity of their care and the reassurance this provided. Health and social care professionals reported the provider worked highly effectively to promote children, young people and adults’ rights. People’s feedback was actively sought and people who used the service, families and staff were all encouraged to share their views and contribute ideas on how their care could be enhanced.

We found the provider operated according to best practice guidelines and legislation such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This sets out the rights of every child regardless of their race, religion or abilities. The provider had made positive changes as a result of listening to what children, young people and adults who used the service said to them.

Detailed, comprehensive care plans and risk assessments were in place and we found that the provider worked collaboratively with staff from other agencies to minimise identified risks. There was an effective management team in place to support the development of staff and ensure the service was consistently well led. We found that the management team reviewed and acted upon any issues to support the provision of high quality, consistent, safe care that we found.