Helping Hands Chipping Sodbury

Updated 22 May 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 adult social care inspector.

Service and service type:

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides the regulated activity personal care to people living in their own homes. 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 24 hours' notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure that someone would be available to provide the information we needed for our inspection. On 30 April we visited the office location to see the registered manager and office staff. On 1 May we spoke with people and staff over the telephone.

What we did:

Before the inspection we looked at information we had about the service. This information included the statutory notifications that the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to send us by law. The provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what it does well and improvements they plan to make. We spoke with registered manager, five people who used the service and five staff members. We looked at five people's care records, together with other records relating to their care and the running of the service. This included six staff employment records, policies and procedures, minutes of meetings, accidents, incidents and complaints records, audits and quality assurance reports.

Updated 22 May 2019

About the service:

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides the regulated activity personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 40 people were receiving the regulated activity of which we inspect against.

People’s experience of using this service: The feedback we received from people was good. Staff we spoke with enjoyed working for the service and supporting people in the community. People and staff were happy to contribute to the inspection and share their views and experiences.

The service was safe and risks to people were managed well. Staff knew how to protect people from harm and had received safeguarding training. There were enough staff employed to help keep people safe and to meet their needs. We found that recruitment practices were safe and relevant checks were completed before staff started work at the service. There were systems in place to ensure medicines were managed safely. Staff followed the providers infection control policy and procedure to limit the risks of cross infection.

The service was effective in meeting people’s needs. Staff received regular supervision and support. The annual training programme equipped staff with essential skills and knowledge. Arrangements were made for people to see a GP and other healthcare professionals when they needed to do so. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of the support they required.

The service was caring and people were treated with kindness and respect. Staff were caring and spoke about people positively. They took an interest in the people they supported, including their life histories, the things they liked and didn't like and the people who were important to them. Independence was encouraged and supported.

Helping Hands provided a responsive service to meet people’s health and social needs. They received person-centred care and support. Regular monitoring and reviews meant that referrals had been made to appropriate health and social care professionals. Where necessary care and support had been changed to accurately reflect people's needs and improve their health and wellbeing. The service supported people who wanted to die at home with the support of other community health professionals. People were encouraged to make their views known and the service responded by making changes.

The service was well led. People received a good standard of care because the management team led by example and had expectations about the standards of care people should receive. Staff were enthusiastic and happy in their work. They felt supported within their roles. Staff described working together as a team, they provided person-centred care and helped people to achieve their potential. Systems were in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service and the care people received.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published October 2016)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive. We will visit the service in line with our inspection schedule, or sooner if required.

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