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Helping Hands Stoke

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

8 King Street, Newcastle, Staffordshire, ST5 1EL (01782) 968595

Provided and run by:
Midshires Care Limited

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 4 April 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. 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 homes. It provides a service to older adults and younger disabled adults. At the time of the inspection there were 38 people receiving the regulated activity of personal care using the service.

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 visit because we needed to be sure that they would be in.

Inspection site visit activity started on 28 February 2019 and ended on 1 March 2019. This included telephone calls to people and relatives to gain feedback about the service. We visited the office location on 28 February 2019 to see the registered manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

What we did:

We used the information we held about the service to formulate our planning tool. This included notifications about any events that had happened at the service, which the provider was required to send us by law.

We spoke with four people who used the service and two relatives to gain their experiences of the service provided. We spoke with four staff, the registered manager, the Head of Home Care North and the quality partner.

We viewed four people’s care records to confirm what people and staff had told us. We also looked at documents relating to the management of the service including rotas, accident reports, monthly audits, and medicine administration records. We also looked at training and induction records for staff employed at the service.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 4 April 2019

About the service:

Helping Hands Stoke is a domiciliary care service that was providing support to 80 people in their own homes.

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

People’s experience of using this service:

People were supported by staff, who were recruited safely and had the knowledge and skills to provide effective support. Staffing levels were reviewed to ensure there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Infection control procedures were followed and Medicines were managed safely.

Care plans and risk assessments were in place which enabled staff to provide support that met people’s needs whilst respecting their preferences.

Staff used care plans to ensure they provided support in line with people’s wishes. This ensured people received personalised care in line with their preferences and diverse needs. People were involved in the planning and review of their care.

People were supported by staff who were caring and promoted choices in a way that people understood, this meant people had control and choice over their lives. Staff respected people’s privacy and provided dignified care.

Systems were in place to monitor the service. People’s risks were mitigated and lessons were learnt when things went wrong. People and staff could approach the registered manager who acted on concerns raised to make improvements to the quality of the care delivered.

The service met the characteristics of Good in all areas; more information is available in the full report below.

Rating at last inspection:

The service has not been previously inspected.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection. This was the first inspection for this service following registration.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive.