Background to this inspection
Updated
25 March 2020
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
The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an assistant inspector who made telephone calls.
Service and service type
Helping Hands Maidstone is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the previous registered manager left in December 2019. This means that the provider is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. A new manager had been recruited and had applied to the CQC to become the registered manager.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was announced. We gave the service five days’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We also needed to gain people’s consent to being contacted for their feedback.
Inspection activity started on 10 February 2020 and ended on 18 February 2020. We visited the office location on 13 February 2020.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the agency. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with nine people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of staff including the manager, two care staff and a care co-ordinator.
We reviewed a range of records. This included six people’s care plans, risk assessments, daily care records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff support and supervision. We also saw a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including a sample of audits, quality assurance surveys, accidents and policies and procedures.
Updated
25 March 2020
About the service
Helping Hands Maidstone is a domiciliary care service registered to provide personal care for older people, people who live with dementia, people who have learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder and people who misuse drugs and alcohol. Not everyone who used the service received 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 our inspection 28 people were receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and their relatives were positive in their feedback about the service and said they would recommend them to others. Comments from people included, “The best I’ve had, have confidence the agency will deal with issues”, “So friendly, they are my mates [staff]. They help make me look gorgeous, we have a laugh” and, “I find them brilliant.” A relative said, “So far, nothing they could do better, much better than the previous agency.”
People felt safe receiving support from staff they knew well. People’s needs were assessed prior to receiving care and, this information was transferred into their care plan. Staff understood the importance of meeting people’s needs, wishes and preferences. People were involved in the development and review of their care plan.
People were supported to manage their medicines safely with support from trained and competent staff. Potential risks posed to people and staff had been monitored and minimised. Internal and external risks within people’s properties had been assessed. Action was taken to reduce the reoccurrence of accidents.
Staff followed guidance from healthcare professionals to ensure people remained as healthy as possible. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s specific health needs. People, if required, were supported to maintain their nutrition and hydration.
People’s likes, dislikes and personal histories were recorded within their care plan. People’s privacy and dignity was protected whilst encouraging people to be as independent as possible.
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 felt supported in their role by the management team and were given the training, support and guidance they required, to fulfil their role. Staff had been recruited safely with checks in place reduce the risk of unsafe staff working with people.
People’s feedback, concerns and complaints were listened to and acted on. There were a range of checks and audits in place to promote a high-quality service and continuously improve.
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 (published 18 August 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.