Background to this inspection
Updated
3 November 2022
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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by one inspector. A second inspector and an Expert by Experience supported the inspection remotely.
An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
Registered Manager
This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
Notice of inspection
We gave a short period notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 11 August 2022 and ended on 12 September 2022. We visited the location’s office on 11 August 2022.
What we did before the inspection
We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We sought feedback from the local authority.
We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with 12 people who used the service or their family members. We spoke with the registered manager and five members of staff.
We reviewed records relating to people's care and the running of the service. These included policies and procedures, care records for four people and three staff recruitment files.
Updated
3 November 2022
About the service
Helping Hands Basingstoke is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own homes. The service provides support to people with a variety of needs. At the time of our inspection there were 26 people receiving personal care from the service.
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
Assessments of people’s needs did not always reflect best practice or show how they were carried out. Some aspects of people’s health were not effectively planned for, though staff knew people well and understood how to escalate concerns over their health or safety. Some aspects of assessing people’s capacity and supporting them to make decisions did not follow best practice.
People received safe care which met their needs. There were enough staff to support people, medicines were managed safely, infection control measures were in place and risks to people were assessed and managed.
Staff, people and their relatives told us that staff were well trained, experienced and confident in their roles. There were good systems in place to induct new staff and monitor their performance and the quality of care provided.
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.
Staff knew people well and understood their individual needs and preferences. Staff respected people, promoted privacy, dignity and independence in the care they provided. People and their relatives told us that staff were kind and compassionate.
Staff understood how to provide person-centred care and people’s preferences were met. People were supported to avoid social isolation and to participate in activities which interested them, wherever possible. Complaints were well managed. People were supported at the end of their life to stay at home, if that was their wish, and the service worked to meet their needs at this time.
The service was well-led, there was a positive culture within the staff team and people using the service told us the care was of high quality. Staff mostly told us they felt listened to and were happy with their job. People and their relatives felt listened to and were able to raise concerns, they told us the management of the service was good.
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.
At the time of the inspection, the location did not provide care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.
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 4 April 2019 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.