Archived: Helping Hands Sutton Coldfield

Helping Hands is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the service supported 43 people.

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

People told us they felt safe when being supported by staff in their homes. Relatives had no concerns about the safety of their loved ones. People and their relatives confirmed staff arrived on time or called them if they were running late. People were supported by a consistent core group of staff. Staff knew how to escalate concerns and were aware of any potential risks when providing support. People received their medicines when they needed them. Staff wore gloves and aprons to ensure they protected people from cross infection.

Staff felt supported and had the training they needed to meet people’s needs. People were assessed before they used the service to ensure their needs could be met. 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 and relatives made positive comments about the staff that supported them. People told us the staff encouraged them to be independent, protected their privacy and treated them with dignity and respect.

People and their relatives were involved in the way the service was provided and, in the development, and review of their care plan. A complaints procedure was in place and people and their relatives knew how to raise concerns and felt confident these would be addressed. Systems were in place to ensure any communication needs people had were identified and information provided in a format that met individual’s needs.

People, relatives and staff thought the service was managed well. The registered manager was described as approachable, open and transparent in the way they managed the service. Systems were in place to monitor the delivery of the service.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 9 December 2016).

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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Helping Hands is a community based adult social care service supporting people with personal care in their own homes. They currently support 53 people.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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 were kept safe. Staff had received training and understood the different types of abuse and knew what action they would take if they thought a person was at risk of harm. People were kept safe by staff that were able to recognise the signs of abuse and raise concerns if needed. Staff were provided with sufficient guidance on how to support people’s medical care and support needs if required.

People were supported by staff that had been safely recruited People and relatives felt that they were being supported by staff with the appropriate skills and knowledge to provide good care and support for them. Staff were trained and supported so that they had the knowledge and skills to enable them to care for people in a way that met their individual needs and preferences.

Where people required support at meal times, staff provided meals to their specific needs and understood the benefits of a healthy diet.

People were supported to make choices and were involved in the care and support they received. Staff had an awareness of the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding (DoLS) and how to support people with their best interests at heart.

Staff were caring and treated people with dignity and respect. People’s choices and independence was respected and promoted and staff responded to people’s support needs. People and their relatives felt they could speak with the provider about their worries or concerns and felt they would be listened to and have their concerns addressed.

Staff spoke positively about the provider and the supportive culture they had established.

The provider had quality assurance and audit systems in place to monitor the care and support people received to ensure the service remained consistent and effective.