We carried out a review of the data available to us about Helping Hands Calne on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Helping Hands Calne, you can give feedback on this service.
Helping Hands Calne is a domiciliary care service, providing personal care to people living in and around Calne, Devizes, Chippenham and surrounding areas. At the time of our inspection there were 21 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
People told us they felt safe using the service. People were cared for by staff who knew how to keep them safe and protect them from avoidable harm. One person’s relative said, "I am sure [relative] is safe with them. Since they’ve been going, they’ve put [relative] at ease and they are all very understanding towards [relative] and give lots of reassurance.” There were enough staff available to meet people's needs. People told us staff generally arrived at the scheduled time and always stayed for the specified period. People were supported to take their medicines safely. Incidents and accidents were reported, investigated and actions taken to prevent recurrence.
People's needs were assessed, and care plans were in place. People were cared for by staff who had been trained to carry out their roles and who were knowledgeable about the support people 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 told us they were cared for by kind and compassionate staff. Staff understood the need to respect people's privacy and dignity. One person said, "The staff all seem to be caring people” and one person’s relative said, “We have no problems with them at all, they are amazing, and I can only sing their praises.” Staff said they found their role rewarding. One staff member said, “I like knowing that I've left someone happy and in a safe environment, it makes me feel good. I might do a bit extra, like feed the cat or get a bit of extra shopping in if someone needs it. It might not seem very much, but it can mean a lot to a person.”
Staff were knowledgeable about people's support needs as well as people's preferences for how they wanted to be cared for. One person said, "I am involved in my care plan and the manager came to see me when it was set up and the staff follow it. Nothing has ever happened that I did not like and all the things they do are done properly." There was a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to complain if they needed to.
There were robust quality assurance processes in place. Regular audits of all aspects of the service were undertaken. Staff spoke highly of the registered manager. Comments included, “[Registered manager] is great” and, “She's very good, very approachable.”
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 3 March 2021 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.