Background to this inspection
Updated
12 June 2021
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 planned this inspection to check 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
One inspector completed the inspection.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care service. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that the provider is 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 24 hours' notice of the inspection site visit 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 05 May 2021 and ended on 07 May 2021.
What we did before the inspection
Before the inspection, we reviewed all the information we held about the service including previous inspection reports and notifications received by the CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about. We requested feedback from other stakeholders including the local authority safeguarding team. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with the manager supporting the service in the absence of the registered manager. We also spoke with three members of staff and the regional care director and reviewed a range of records.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to corroborate evidence found. We looked at further management records which included training data and quality assurance records. The requested documents were provided in a timely manner and were used to inform our judgements. We also spoke with two people’s relatives and one person who used the service about the quality of care provided.
Updated
12 June 2021
About the service
Helping Hands Hertford is a domiciliary care agency and registered to provide personal care to older people in their own homes.
Not everyone using Helping Hands Hertford receives a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care' which 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 this inspection 14 people were receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found.
The management team had not always taken appropriate actions following incidents. Learning and sharing best practice from incidents needed embedding with staff.
Risks to people’s health, safety and well-being were identified but not always assessed to manage these risks.
Staff received training and support to enable them to carry out their roles. However, further higher level training was required in areas such as dementia.
Regular checks and audits of the quality and safety of care had not been effectively carried out to identify the required improvements found at this inspection.
People were safe and protected from avoidable harm because staff knew how to identify and report any concerns relating to the risk of abuse. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s changing needs and how to support these. People were supported by staff who were recruited following a robust process. People’s medicines were managed safely. Staff had received training in infection control practices and personal protective equipment such as gloves and aprons were provided for them.
Before care started assessments were completed to make sure people`s needs could be met. People's dietary needs and requirements were identified in their care plans and staff had a good understanding of how to support people with these.
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.
Staff and the management team knew people well and they sought professional advice appropriately as people’s needs changed. Relatives praised the kind and caring nature of the staff team.
People and relatives knew about their care and were in control of the support they needed. People received care and support as they wanted and in a manner they wanted. Relatives were confident to raise concerns with the management team.
The management team was committed to developing and improving the service to deliver a high standard of care to the people they supported. Relatives and staff spoke highly of the management team and told us that they were always available and supportive.
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 29 May 2019 and this is the first 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.