Helping Hands Leicester

Updated 15 May 2026

Date of inspection: 8 June to 10 June 2026. Helping Hands Leicester is a domiciliary care agency that provides support to people in their own homes, this included younger adults, older people, people living with dementia, mental health, physical and sensory impairments.

At the time of inspection 80 people were receiving support with personal care. CQC only assesses support provided to people who receive the regulated activity personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. We inspected the service due to its aged rating.

The provider needed to improve how they embedded learning and quality improvement across the organisation. Key issues, such as medicines concerns, were identified at this inspection and similar themes had been found recently at other inspections completed for this provider. Audit processes required strengthening, as governance systems did not always provide effective oversight or reliably identify where improvements were always needed. Medicines were not always managed safely.

Time to allow staff to travel between care calls was not always sufficient, which contributed to delays and variations in call times. We also found some staff were not consistently supported to take enough breaks to meet Working Time Regulations. Management team reviews did not always identify all staff affected, indicating gaps in oversight. However, staff we spoke with told us they felt supported. The provider has reviewed our findings and planned approaches to address these concerns which include additional training, oversight and adaption of the care planning system to alert teams if there were errors.

Despite these issues, people and relatives consistently described staff as kind, respectful and supportive. Staff treated people as individuals and provided care in line with their preferences. Staff had access to training, supervision and appraisal, and safe recruitment processes were in place, including references and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.

Safeguarding concerns were managed appropriately. Staff ensured people understood their care and treatment so they could give informed consent. Where people lacked capacity, staff involved those important to them and made decisions in their best interests.

Updated 15 May 2026

People’s experiences of the service were mixed. While some people and their relatives spoke positively about the care they received, others described issues that affected their experience. Comments included: “It does vary, sometimes they are too early. There is no consistency with their timing.” “They always turn up late.” However, others reported a more positive experience. Comments included: “They come on time; they are not late.” “They arrive at the planned time, give or take ten minutes.”

Some people and their relatives told us repeated late calls had affected their daily routines and, in some cases, led them to shorten or adjust visit times.

Feedback about continuity of staff also varied. Some people told us they had not received rotas and had seen different staff, which meant they did not always experience consistent support. Comments included, “[Person] doesn’t know them well and didn’t always receive care from the same person,” and “The staff change all the time.”

However, others described more positive experiences. One relative told us, “[Person] has the same carers most of the time,” and another said, “[Person] knows the staff very well most of the time it’s the same staff.”

People said they felt able to raise concerns, although some feedback suggested not all concerns had been formally recorded.

People and relatives consistently described staff as kind, respectful and supportive. One person told us having care in place meant “I get company and have a laugh with staff.” People and relatives said they were involved in assessments and care reviews.

Most people were supported with activities that mattered to them, such as baking, going out, exercising or swimming. These activities helped people remain engaged in routines and interests that were important to them.