Helping Hands Chichester

Updated 12 February 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

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. 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 the service 48 hours' notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 14 January 2020 and ended on 16 January 2020. This included phone calls to staff, people and relatives. We visited the office location on 14 January 2020.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the service registered. We sought feedback from Healthwatch, the local authority and professionals who work with the service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six staff including the area manager, registered manager, care coordinator, care training practitioner and two care workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 12 February 2020

About the service

Helping Hands is a domiciliary care agency (DCA) providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of this inspection 21 people were supported with personal care. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. 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.

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

People received safe, personalised and responsive care. However, care records relating to people’s health did not always reflect the care being delivered. Improvements were required to ensure the information contained within people's care records was personalised, consistent and accurately reflected people’s current care and support needs. Staff were knowledgeable about people's needs and people's safety had not been impacted.

Seven days prior to the inspection, staff had started to communicate information between themselves in real-time through an electronic application on their personal mobile phones. The provider had not ensured this process was secure. The registered manager took immediate action to stop this practice at the time of the inspection.

People said they felt safe and were protected from harm. A person said, "I felt safe with them, they put me at ease because they were very friendly. They did wear badges, so I knew who they were, and they were on time.” Staff had a good understanding of what safeguarding meant and the procedures for reporting any issues of harm to people. All the staff we spoke with were confident any concerns they raised would be followed up appropriately by the registered manager.

There were enough staff to care for people safely, with staff and people using the service telling us current staffing arrangements were sufficient. Staff said their rotas were well managed, with sufficient travel time between each care visit. A relative said, "They are very good, they send in people every day and are very helpful and organised.” The staff recruitment procedures ensured appropriate pre-employment checks were completed to ensure only suitable staff worked at the service.

Medicines were managed safely by trained staff. Effective practices were in place to protect people from infection. Staff received supervision and appraisals to support them in their role and identify any learning needs and opportunities for professional development.

Senior staff carried out spot checks to monitor the quality of the service provided and to seek the views of the people who were supported. People had a choice of meals and told us they had plenty to eat and drink.

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.

People received appropriate healthcare support as and when needed and staff knew what to do to request assistance. Complaints were investigated and managed appropriately in line with the provider's policy.

The service worked in partnership with other agencies to ensure quality of care across all levels. People, relatives and staff were encouraged to provide feedback about the service. There was a culture of openness and transparency. Staff were positive about the management and leadership of the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 15 January 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.

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.