Archived: Helping Caring Hands Ltd

Updated 5 August 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 21 April 2017 and was announced. 48 hours’ notice of the inspection was given because the service was small and the manager was often out of the office supporting staff. We needed them to be available during the inspection. The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Before the inspection, we looked at reports and notifications about important events that had taken place at the service, which the provider is required to tell us by law.

We visited a person at home and spoke to them with their solicitor, who is their legal appointee, about their experience of the service. This also enabled us to view their care plan and speak to staff. We spoke with the manager and one member of staff to gain their views about the service.

We spent time looking at records, policies and procedures, complaints and incident and accident monitoring systems. We looked at one person's care file, two staff files, the staff training programme and medicine records. We asked the manager and the provider to send us information after the inspection about care plans that should be kept in their office, the content of training sessions and what actions they had taken to register as the manager. This information was not sent to us.

Updated 5 August 2017

This inspection took place on 25 April 2017 and was announced.

Helping Caring Hands care agency provides care services to people in their own homes mainly on the Isle of Sheppey. The care they provided was tailored to people’s needs so that people could maintain or regain their independence. This included older people who had been discharged from hospital who needed help with day to day tasks like cooking, shopping, washing and dressing and help to maintain their health and wellbeing. At the time of our inspection, there was one privately funded person using the service. This person received a 24 hour care package and was mainly cared for in bed.

At the time of our inspection there had not been a registered manager employed at the service since 20 February 2015. 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. There was a manager in day to day charge of the service but they had failed to register.

At the previous inspection on 19 and 23 November 2015, we identified one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2009 (Registration) Regulations 2014. The breaches were in relation to full and robust recruitment checks not being carried out on some staff employed and that the registered person had not complied with the conditions of their registration by appointing a registered manager.

At this inspection, the regulated activity of personal care was only being delivered to one person. The staff working with this person had appropriate employment checks, for example they were checked against the disclosure and barring service records. However, the provider had not registered a manager and continued to be in breach of the Registration Regulations.

It is a legal requirement that a provider’s latest CQC inspection report rating is displayed on the provider's website. The provider had failed to display their rating.

Staff were recruited safely and had been through a selection process that ensured they were fit to work with people who needed safeguarding. Recruitment policies were in place that had been followed. Safe recruitment practices included background and criminal records checks prior to staff starting work.

The care was predominantly delivered by one member of staff as part of a small team of care staff, but two care staff were made available when moving and handling tasks were needed. A slide sheet was available and staff had been trained to use it.

The person receiving personal care and their representatives spoke about the staff in a positive light regarding their feelings of being safe and well cared for. They thought that staff were caring and compassionate. Staff were trusted and well thought of by the people they cared for.

The manager assessed people’s needs and planned people’s care to maintain their safety, health and wellbeing. Risks were assessed by staff to protect people. There were systems in place to monitor incidents and accidents.

Staff training covered both core training like first aid and more specialised training like catheter care. They also understood the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and how to support people’s best interest if they lacked capacity.

Staff had received training about protecting people from abuse. Procedures for reporting any concerns were in place. The manager knew how and when they should escalate concerns following the local authorities safeguarding protocols.

There was an up to date policy about the safe administration of medicines. Staff had been trained to administer medicines safely. Staff followed guidance about supporting people to eat and drink enough. Care plans were kept in people’s homes, they were reviewed and updated.

The manager had contact with people when delivering care and the person receiving personal care knew the manager and provider well. There were policies in place, which ensured people would be listened to and treated fairly if they complained.

We found a continuing breach and a new breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. We are taking action against the provider.