Background to this inspection
Updated
20 December 2019
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
The service is owned by an individual provider who is registered with CQC. They also manage the service and provide care and support for people. This means they are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. They will be referred to throughout the report as the ‘registered person’.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was announced.
We gave the service a short period of notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the registered person would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 16 October 2019 and ended on 25 October 2019. We visited the office location on 16 October 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the registered person sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers of services are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with a person who received support from Helping Hands Nurses Agency (HHNA Lincoln). We also spoke with the registered person and a member of staff.
We looked at the care records for a person who received support. We also looked at the management of medicines, staff recruitment processes and training information, as well as a range of records relating to the running of the service.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We also spoke with a healthcare professional who worked with the person who received support.
Updated
20 December 2019
About the service
Helping Hands Nursing Agency is a domiciliary care agency. It currently provides personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection it provided a service to one person.
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
At the last inspection we identified issues with the systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the services, care records and staff knowledge. At this inspection we found the registered person had made improvements in al these areas. However, further work was needed to ensure improvements were sustained.
People were supported by staff who understood how to safeguard them from the risk of harm.
Risks to people's health, safety and welfare had been assessed and management plans were in place to minimise the risks.
There were enough staff employed to make sure people's needs and wishes were met. Staff were trained and supported to carry out their roles and responsibilities. Appropriate staff recruitment systems were in place.
Although the service did not manage people’s medicines at the time of the inspection there were systems in place should this become necessary.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People were treated with respect and their rights to privacy and dignity were upheld. They were supported to live their life in the ways they wanted to.
People and the staff who cared for them had confidence in the way services were managed.
People were involved in planning their care and support and were asked for their views about the quality of the services they received.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection (and update)
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 8 October 2018) and there was one breach of regulation. 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 registered person was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Helping Hands Nurses Agency (HHNA Lincoln) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk
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.