Helping Hands Sheffield

Updated 24 September 2019

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 conducted by an inspector and an assistant inspector.

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 did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. A registered manager 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 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.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service and one relative of a person who use the service, about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the manager, co-ordinator and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at four 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.

Updated 24 September 2019

About the service

Helping Hands Sheffield is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to 27 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection.

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 said the service was safe and that there were enough staff who were consistently on time. Staff were recruited safely. People received their medicines as prescribed from trained staff whose competency was assessed.

Staff received an induction and training before starting work, and staff had adequate ongoing monitoring and support through supervisions, spot checks and appraisals.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People and their relatives said staff were kind, caring and compassionate. people’s dignity, privacy and independence were promoted and protected by staff. Care plans contained good person-centred detail on their routines and preferences, and care plans were updated and reviewed regularly.

Staff said the manager was approachable, and there was a clear leadership structure in place. The manager had oversight of the quality of the service through audits and reports. The provider sought feedback from people in order to improve the service and held regular meetings with staff.

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

Rating at last inspection and update: The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 24 August 2018) and there was one breach of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.