Background to this inspection
Updated
8 April 2020
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
This inspection was completed 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.
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 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 the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We also needed to gain consent to contact people using the service.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with eight people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the provider’s regional manager, the registered manager, care coordinator and care workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.
Updated
8 April 2020
About the 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.