Helping Hands Newcastle

Helping Hands Newcastle is a domiciliary care service providing personal care and support to people living in their own homes. 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 the inspection the service was providing personal care to 25 people.

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

People and relatives were very happy with the service, felt it was safe and staff were caring. One person told us, “This agency is excellent.” A relative said, “We’re very happy. They have good attitudes and it’s working very well.”

Risks to people’s health, safety and well-being were effectively managed. Staff safeguarded people from abuse. Medicines were safely administered and managed. The provider had effective infection prevention and control systems in place.

Safe recruitment procedures were followed and there were enough staff employed to meet people’s needs. Staff were supported, to provide care in a person-centred way, through regular training, observations and supervision. People were supported at mealtimes and staff worked effectively with external professionals to ensure people received the support they wanted and needed.

Support was personalised and based on people's assessed needs and preferences. Staff spoke highly of people and were enthusiastic about their roles. 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 and relatives were involved in making decisions about their care. Staff respected people’s privacy, dignity and promoted their independence. People and relatives were aware of the provider’s complaints procedure and felt confident to raise concerns.

People and relatives felt the service was well-managed. The registered manager promoted an open, honest culture and was approachable. The provider promoted continuous learning and improvement. Systems were in place to effectively monitor and develop standards at the service. Feedback was regularly sought and valued.

This was an 'inspection using remote technology'. This means we did not visit the office location and instead used technology such as electronic file sharing to gather information, and video and phone calls to engage with people using the service as part of this performance review and assessment.

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 5 September 2018).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection to rate the service.

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 Newcastle is a domiciliary care agency. It provides a service to younger and older adults living in their own homes with a range of care needs. Not everyone using Helping Hands Newcastle receives regulated activity. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care,’ that is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection there were 42 people using the service, 23 of whom received personal care.

The service provides support to people living in Newcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Northumberland and Sunderland areas.

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.

This is the first inspection of this service. The service registered with the Care Quality Commission in April 2017.

During this inspection we found legal requirements were being met and we have given this service an overall rating of good.

People told us they were happy with the care they received. People and relatives felt there were enough staff to carry out visits and said the service was safe.

Staff completed safeguarding adults training as part of their induction, and this was updated regularly. Staff knew how to report concerns and were able to describe various types of abuse. Staff were confident any concerns they had would be taken seriously.

There were thorough recruitment and selection procedures to check new staff were suitable to care for and support vulnerable adults.

Risks to people's health and safety were assessed, managed and reviewed regularly. There were clear risk assessments relating to a person's medicines, mobility, nutrition and other areas of need in care plans.

Medicines were managed safely and medicine records were completed accurately.

People and relatives we spoke with said they were happy with the service and felt staff had the right skills to provide the care they needed.

Staff told us they received appropriate training and opportunities to shadow established staff before providing care on their own. Staff received regular spot checks, supervisions and appraisals.

People had 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 told us care staff were caring, friendly, helpful and respectful. Staff had a good understanding of the importance of treating people with dignity and respect.

Staff spoke fondly about people who used the service and how thy enjoyed their role.

Staff had access to detailed information to help them better understand the needs of people they cared for. This information included a person's life history, hobbies, preferences and daily routine.

Care plans and risk assessments were specific to the needs of the individual and were reviewed regularly and whenever a person's needs changed.

People knew how to complain if they had a concern. People were frequently asked for their views about the service and their feedback was acted upon.

The provider ensured the quality of the service was assessed and monitored by carrying out regular audits of all aspects of the care provided. Staff told us they felt supported by the management team and felt able to voice any concerns they may have. Staff told us there was a positive culture.