Helping Hands Bristol

Updated 25 December 2020

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The 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 homes. The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave 24 hours’ notice of the inspection to ensure we could manage the risks related to Covid-19. We also needed to be sure the registered manager would be available to help facilitate our visit.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. Prior to the branch office visit we requested key information and documents to be sent to us, based on the concerns we had received. This was to help us plan for our visit and to support the judgements we made in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager to discuss the recent moving and handling training session and the concerns that had been raised following the training.

After the inspection

We telephoned and spoke with two care staff to seek their views on how they had been supported in recent months during the pandemic. We also read a positive email sent by a relative of a client thanking the staff for all their support.

Updated 25 December 2020

This inspection started with a visit to the office location on 18 July 2018 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of the inspection to ensure that the people we needed to speak with were available. On 23 July 2018 we made calls to people who used the service, relatives and staff to gain their views and experiences. This was their first inspection since they registered with CQC in August 2017.

The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector. This service is a domiciliary care service. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of this inspection the service was providing a service to 41 people who received the regulated activity of personal care. The services were managed from an office in Bristol.

There was not registered manager in post at the time of the 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. A manager had been appointed and was in the process of completing their induction.

The feedback we received from everyone we spoke with was very positive throughout. Those people who used the service including relatives and staff, expressed satisfaction and spoke highly of all staff and support provided.

The safety of people who used the service was taken seriously and staff were aware of their responsibility to protect people’s health and wellbeing. There were systems in place to ensure that potential risks to people’s safety and wellbeing were identified and addressed.

The staff were motivated and proud of the service. A programme of training and supervision enabled them to provide a good quality service to people. Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and, worked to ensure people's rights were respected.

Staff understood people’s care needs and had the skills and knowledge to meet them. People received consistent support from staff who knew them well. People had positive, caring relationships with the staff and were confident in the service. There was an emphasis on key principles of care such as compassion, respect and dignity and promoting independence. People who used the service felt they were treated with kindness and said their privacy and dignity was always respected.

People received a service that was based on their personal needs and wishes. Changes in people’s needs were quickly identified and their care package amended to meet their changing needs. The service was flexible and responded very positively to people’s requests. People who used the service felt able to make requests and express their opinions and views.

People benefitted from a service that was well led. The vision, values and culture of the provider were clearly communicated to and understood by staff. The provider had implemented a programme of ‘planned growth’ that had been well managed. They were committed to continuous improvement and demonstrated strong values and a desire to learn about and implement best practice throughout the service. There were effective quality assurance systems and processes in place to monitor quality and understand the experiences of people who used the service.