Helping Hands Evesham and Cotswold

Updated 17 November 2021

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 was carried out by one inspector and an expert by experience. The Expert by Experience made telephone calls to people and their relatives to obtain feedback about their experience of the care provided. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

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 had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure a manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 14 October 2021 and ended on 1 November 2021. We visited the office location on 14 October 2021.

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 reviewed information we had received about the service, such as notifications. These inform us of events that happen in the service which the provider is required to tell us about by law. We sought feedback from the local authority. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the office and spoke with the registered manager, area manager, two care co-ordinators and the care and training practitioner. We also spoke with four people that used the service, four relatives and two care staff following our visit.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and associated documentation. We also looked at the staff training records and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 17 November 2021

About the service

Helping Hands Evesham and Cotswolds is a domiciliary care agency that is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. 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. At the time of the inspection, forty seven people were supported with their personal care needs.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were kept safe by effective safeguarding procedures and staff who understood how to safeguard people from abuse. There were enough staff to meet people's needs and ensure safe care. Thorough recruitment procedures helped to ensure the right staff were employed. People received their medicines safely. People’s care plans and risk assessments were detailed, person centred and kept up to date through regular review.

People were supported to make choices and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. People had a comprehensive assessment of their needs prior to using the service. The provider had arrangements for the induction of new staff and staff received regular training including training that was specific to people's individual needs. People were supported to access healthcare services when required.

People told us staff were kind and caring and treated them with dignity and respect. People, and where appropriate their relatives, had been consulted about their care needs and had been involved in the care planning process.

The provider had established governance and quality assurance systems with regular audits and checks that monitored the standard of the service.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 17 March 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date the service was first registered with the CQC.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information, we may inspect sooner.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.