We carried out a review of the data available to us about Helping Hands Wokingham 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 Wokingham, you can give feedback on this service.
Helping Hands Wokingham is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. The service supports older people, people living with dementia and people with a physical disability. Not everyone who uses the service may receive personal care. The Care Quality Commission (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. At the time of the inspection the service was providing personal care to 48 people in the Wokingham area.
People's experience of using this service and what we found
People were supported by enough suitable staff, who understood their responsibilities to safeguard people from discrimination, neglect, and abuse. Staff effectively assessed people’s needs and risks to their health and safety, which were managed safely. People experienced good continuity and consistency of care from regular staff who knew them well and how they wished their care to be delivered. The provider recruited staff safely in accordance with regulations. Staff were trained effectively and supported to provide high quality care. People received prescribed medicines safely from staff who had their competency to do so regularly assessed. Staff followed required food safety standards when preparing or handling food. Staff raised concerns and reported incidents, which ensured action was taken to protect people from similar events in the future. We were assured that staff followed good infection control practices.
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 provider had established systems and processes for reviewing the quality and safety of the service, which the management team operated effectively. The service was well managed by the branch manager, who provided clear and direct leadership, which inspired staff and instilled confidence in people. The branch manager had developed the care training practitioners and care coordinator into an effective management team that worked well together. The management team and staff were focused on putting people first to ensure they consistently experienced good outcomes. The branch manager readily assumed responsibility and accountability when concerns had been raised or mistakes had been made. The management team actively encouraged critical feedback from people and staff to drive continuous improvement in the service. Staff had developed good relationships with community health care professionals and effective communication and information sharing ensured people’s changing needs were met with the appropriate care and treatment.
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 requires improvement (report published 17 December 2017). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the service had improved to good.
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.
Helping Hands Wokingham is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. The service supported older people, people living with dementia and people with a physical disability. Not everyone who uses the service may receive personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal, support with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection it the service was providing personal care to 34 people in the Wokingham, Windsor and Maidenhead area.
People's experience of using this service and what we found
In July 2019 the provider had completed a quality assurance audit, which identified that the service was failing to treat customers with dignity, due to shortfalls in service provision, there was a negative culture and evidence that customers had not been treated with compassion. The registered manager was unable to provide evidence to demonstrate effective monitoring of the service and the improvements made in relation to this audit.
People and their relatives had a mixed experience in relation to the management of the service. Some people did not receive consistent support from the office staff and did not believe the service was well-led. Some staff told us they felt supported and that concerns were dealt with in a timely way. However, other staff told us they thought the service was not effectively led. Some staff did not feel valued or supported by the management team.
Risks to people had been assessed to ensure they were supported to stay safe. However, where risks to people had been identified, risk assessments did not always detail how people wished to be supported by staff to reduce the risks identified.
During the summer 2019 some people had experienced missed calls. At the inspection the registered manager was able to demonstrate that minimum staffing levels were now being met to ensure people were safe. People told us that they received good quality care from their regular staff, whom they trusted. However, the recent high turnover of staff meant people may not always experience good continuity and consistency of care.
People were protected from avoidable harm by staff who had received appropriate training and knew how to recognise and report abuse.
People received their prescribed medicines safely from staff who had completed the required training and been assessed to be competent. Staff had the necessary skills to meet people's needs and were supported by the provider to maintain and develop their knowledge.
People had the necessary support to eat and drink to maintain a healthy balanced diet, in line with their needs and preferences.
Staff worked well with people, families and health and social care agencies to support people's wellbeing. People's health was effectively monitored by staff to ensure people received the right support from the wider health and social care network.
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.
Staff treated people with kindness and respect. People were supported to express their views about their care and their wishes were respected. People's privacy and dignity were respected and promoted during the delivery of their care.
The service was not supporting anyone with end of life care. However, the registered manager had provided people with the opportunity to discuss their wishes and preferences in this regard, which were subject to regular review. The service had received heartfelt thanks from family members of a person who had passed away, for the kindness and compassion provided by staff at the end of their life.
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 (report published 4 April 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.
Helping Hands Wokingham is a care agency which provides staff to support people in their own homes. People with various care needs can use this service including people with physical disabilities and older people. At the time of this inspection 60 people received care from this service.
The service had a registered manager. 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.
People and their relatives told us that they felt safe with staff and would be confident to raise any concerns they had. The provider’s recruitment procedures were thorough and medicines were managed safely. There were sufficient staff to provide safe, effective care at the times agreed by the people who were using the service.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, in relation to their care package, and supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
There were procedures in place to manage risks to people and staff. Staff were aware of how to deal with emergency situations and knew how to keep people safe by reporting concerns promptly through processes that they understood well.
Staff received an induction and spent time working with experienced members of staff before working alone with people. Staff were supported to receive the training and development they needed to care for and support people’s individual needs.
The majority of people and their families spoke positively and were complimentary of the services provided. The comments we received demonstrated that the vast majority of people felt valued and listened to. People were treated with kindness and respect whilst their independence was promoted within their homes and the community. People received care and support from familiar and regular staff most of the time and some would recommend the service to other people.
People’s needs were reviewed and their care and support plans promoted person-centred care. Up to date information was generally communicated to the staff to ensure they could provide the appropriate care and support for each individual. Staff knew how to contact healthcare professionals in a timely manner if there were concerns about a person’s wellbeing.
The provider had a system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received and identified areas for improvement.