Help at Home Care

Updated 11 October 2019

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 conducted 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 homes.

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 the provider short notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small, and we had to make sure we could access the records in their office. We arranged with the management team to return the next day.

Inspection activity started on 24 September 2019 and ended on 26 September 2019. We visited the office location on 24 and 25 September 2019 to see the management team; and to review care records, policies and procedures. On 26 September 2019, we conducted telephone calls to people and their relatives who had agreed to provide us with feedback.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we had about Help at Home Care since their registration. 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

At the site visit, we spoke with the registered manager and the quality and compliance manager, who was also the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We reviewed three people’s care records. We looked at information kept regarding the management of the service. This included three staff records and records related to the quality and safety of the service.

We spoke with one person who received personal care and support, six relatives and a social worker.

We emailed all care staff for their feedback and to ask questions about their skills and knowledge. We received four responses.

Updated 11 October 2019

About the service

The service is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care to people living in their own homes throughout North Tyneside. At the time of this inspection there were 16 people using the service.

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.

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

The management team had implemented best practice into the service, however in some aspects of the service such as medicines management and recruitment, further work was needed.

We have made a recommendation about the Accessible Information Standard.

People felt very safe with the support they received from consistent staff, who knew them well. People’s care needs were assessed, and risks were reduced.

There had been no serious incidents or complaints made about the service. Minor incidents were recorded and acted upon to prevent repeat occurrences. People were very satisfied with the service they received.

People were very well cared for their own home by staff who provided reliable, high-quality, person-centred care. People’s privacy and dignity were upheld, and staff were kind and respectful towards people and their families. People were encouraged to be independent and were involved in creating their care plans and making decisions.

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.

The management team had developed a good working relationship with relatives and external professionals to ensure people received any additional support they needed to achieve good outcomes. The service was flexible and could easily be altered to meet people's varying needs and wishes.

The safety and quality of the service was thoroughly monitored through checks and audits. The management team strived to achieve high standards through continuous improvements to 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 24 September 2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on our inspection schedule.

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.