Helping Hands Calne

Updated 12 May 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

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 houses and flats.

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

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was 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 20 April 2022 and ended on 22 April 2022. We visited the location’s office on 20 April 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who use the service and seven relatives. We spoke with ten members of staff including care staff, a care co-ordinator, a care training practitioner and the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people's care records. We looked at three 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.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We sought feedback from a professional who worked with the service.

Updated 12 May 2022

About the service

Helping Hands Calne is a domiciliary care service, providing personal care to people living in and around Calne, Devizes, Chippenham and surrounding areas. At the time of our inspection there were 21 people 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 told us they felt safe using the service. People were cared for by staff who knew how to keep them safe and protect them from avoidable harm. One person’s relative said, "I am sure [relative] is safe with them. Since they’ve been going, they’ve put [relative] at ease and they are all very understanding towards [relative] and give lots of reassurance.” There were enough staff available to meet people's needs. People told us staff generally arrived at the scheduled time and always stayed for the specified period. People were supported to take their medicines safely. Incidents and accidents were reported, investigated and actions taken to prevent recurrence.

People's needs were assessed, and care plans were in place. People were cared for by staff who had been trained to carry out their roles and who were knowledgeable about the support people needed. 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 told us they were cared for by kind and compassionate staff. Staff understood the need to respect people's privacy and dignity. One person said, "The staff all seem to be caring people” and one person’s relative said, “We have no problems with them at all, they are amazing, and I can only sing their praises.” Staff said they found their role rewarding. One staff member said, “I like knowing that I've left someone happy and in a safe environment, it makes me feel good. I might do a bit extra, like feed the cat or get a bit of extra shopping in if someone needs it. It might not seem very much, but it can mean a lot to a person.”

Staff were knowledgeable about people's support needs as well as people's preferences for how they wanted to be cared for. One person said, "I am involved in my care plan and the manager came to see me when it was set up and the staff follow it. Nothing has ever happened that I did not like and all the things they do are done properly." There was a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to complain if they needed to.

There were robust quality assurance processes in place. Regular audits of all aspects of the service were undertaken. Staff spoke highly of the registered manager. Comments included, “[Registered manager] is great” and, “She's very good, very approachable.”

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 3 March 2021 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.