Helping Hands Southport

Updated 23 August 2022

The inspection

We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.

Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.

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.

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 the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be available to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 30 June 2022 and ended 1 July 2022.

What we did before inspection

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 reviewed information we had received about the service since it registered with us. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location’s office. We used technology to enable us to engage with people using the service and staff, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation. We reviewed this information on 30 June 2022.

We spoke with three people using the service and two relatives about their experience of care by telephone. We also spoke with the registered manager and gathered information from three members of staff by telephone.

We looked at four people’s care records and a selection of other records including quality monitoring records, recruitment and training records for three staff members.

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

Updated 23 August 2022

About the service

Helping Hands Southport is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection 37 people were using 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

People confirmed they received their medications and calls on time. Staff knew how to report safeguarding concerns and staff were recruited safely. People told us they felt safe receiving care from Helping Hands Southport. Comments included, “They are ten out of ten” and “I feel safe knowing my relative is well looked after.” There were comprehensive risk assessments in place which were tailored to reflect each person’s assessed need.

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 were supported to eat and drink where needed. Staff were trained, supervised and appraised in line with the providers policies.

Care plans were person centred and reflected the needs of each person. Routines were discussed with people, and they had been involved in completing their care plans. People’s diverse needs were catered for. Staff treated people with kindness, compassion and dignity.” People confirmed they were involved with decisions regarding their care and support, including a choice of which staff would support them.

Relatives confirmed communication from staff was good, and staff supported people to make healthcare appointments where needed. There was a process in place to respond to complaints. Staff were trained in end of life care.

There were audits and quality checks in place, complete with action plans when improvement was identified.

The registered manager understood their role and responsibilities and had reported all notifiable incidents to CQC as required.

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 6 May 2020 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.