Archived: 24 Seven Home Help Limited - 2 Kingsland House

24 Seven Home Help is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service provided personal care and support for 26 people.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

24 Seven Home Help is a family run service. There had been personal demands on the family over the previous year which had impacted their oversight. They had acknowledged this and at the time of our inspection a new manager had been appointed who was applying to become the registered manager. The new management team had identified areas that required improvement and were able to provide us with evidence of their plans to address these shortfalls.

People were positive about the care and support they received. They told us staff treated them kindly and we saw people were comfortable with staff in their homes. Staff were consistent in their knowledge of people’s care needs and spoke with confidence about the care they provided to meet those needs. They were motivated to provide the best care they could and told us they felt supported in their roles. They had received training that provided them with the necessary knowledge and skills to do their job effectively. They also understood how people made choices about the care they received, and encouraged people to make decisions about their care.

People felt safe. They were protected from harm because staff understood the risks they faced and how to reduce these risks. Staff knew how to identify and respond to abuse; including how to contact agencies they should report concerns about people’s care to. However, the records kept about people including their care plans and risk assessments did not reflect the knowledge of the staff or the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The management team acknowledged this and explained the plans they had in place to address these shortfalls.

People told us that medicines and creams were administered safely but we found that a time dependent medicine was not always given appropriately and recording was not accurate. Changes were made immediately to ensure people received their medicines safely.

There were enough safely recruited staff to ensure people received their visits as planned. People told us they mostly received visits on time and were usually contacted if the care worker was running late due to traffic or an emergency.

People had access to health care professionals and were supported to maintain their health by staff. Staff understood changes in people’s health and shared the information necessary for people to receive safe care. Where people had their food and drink prepared by staff they told us this was prepared well. People were left with access to appropriate drinks and food between visits.

People were positive about the care they received and told us the staff were friendly and kind. Staff treated people with respect and kindness throughout our inspection.

Individual needs of people were assessed and continually reviewed and care plans updated as a result. People experienced care, treatment and support that met their needs and protected their rights.

We looked at safeguarding arrangements for staff training, talked to the manager and two staff and reviewed care plans. We found that people were protected because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent it from happening. We saw how the provider worked in cooperation with other agencies in order to protect people.

We looked at staff recruitment records and records of supervision and training. We found that people's welfare needs were met by competent staff who were properly trained and supported. One senior carer told us 'we're really well supported'.

The provider had in place effective systems to assess and monitor the quality of service which sought people's views and changed practice as a consequence where required.