Helping Hands Epsom

Updated 29 June 2026

About the service

The service is a domiciliary care agency providing care to people in their own homes. There were 60 people using the service at the time of the inspection.

Who the service is for

This service supports older people, people living with dementia, and people with physical disabilities who are living in their own homes.

We carried out this assessment from 6 July to 16 July 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.

We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed autistic people and people with a learning disability respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.

The management team had created a warm and inclusive service that clearly valued both the people it supported and staff members. Staff were supported through hardships in a variety of ways and were provided with praise and positive feedback. Staff told us they felt supported, with comments including, “The management team are approachable and supportive. Recently I have had a family issue, and they were very supportive and they regularly check in on me and provide support throughout the difficult times and given me advice and they make sure that I’m coping”, and “I have felt supported from day 1 and feel part of the team. From the day I first came into the office I have felt that the office team are very professional and polite and always give credit where it is due.”

Staff were aware of their responsibility to safeguard people from the risk of abuse and harm. Care plans and risk assessments around people’s needs were detailed yet concise. These were regularly reviewed and updated, with people and their relatives being involved in this process. Staff were safely recruited and were provided with regular training to support them with the knowledge and skills required to deliver safe care. Medicine recording and administration processes were safe. Staff were aware of the importance of gaining consent before delivering care.

Staff were proud to work for the service. One staff member told us, “It is a pleasure to work for [the service] and we feel like 'family'.” Any shortfalls in care were identified through thorough quality governance audits, with appropriate action being taken to resolve in a timely manner. Accidents, incidents and concerns were used as a learning source to improve the service going forward.

Updated 29 June 2026

People received exceptional person-centred care. Staff were matched to people with similar values and interests which helped develop strong rapports and relationships between them. Staff knew and treated people as individuals, striving to help them achieve goals that were personally important to them. Staff delivered exceptional personalised care as a result of this. A relative told us, “We have the same group of carers who are consistent. It’s important as [person] can’t speak so it’s key that he knows who they are. [Person] feels they are interested in him. [Their main carer] will pick up photos and really involves him. She is very caring with [person].” People told us they were able to share humour with staff, and that staff enabled them to be independent where it was safe to do so. The staffing team had supported people to attend dream holidays when they previously felt this was no longer an option due to their health and care needs. Staff had empowered people to become part of the training team so they could provide their lived experience to new staff. Some people were supported to regain independence following hospital admissions, ensuring their emotional and physical wellbeing was nurtured to the point of no longer requiring support.

People were extremely happy with the service they received from Helping Hands Epsom. One person told us, “Their internal systems are excellent. You know where you stand with them.” A relative told us, “Whoever finds these people (staff), they do a great job, they have matched [person] with the right person. They do a great job of caring for people in the community. It’s fantastically run. They are a fantastic company. I can’t believe I have found them.”

People and relatives told us the staff made them feel safe. A relative said, “I feel he is 100% safe. They are kind, never ever have I felt I have left him with anyone that isn’t kind.” They received regular communication from the service, including receiving a rota of their care calls and which staff members would be attending for the following week.

People told us staff arrived on time and stayed the full length of the care visit. Any changed in staffing were communicated with them ahead of time.