Handle With Care

Updated 1 December 2021

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 carried out by one inspector and one pharmacist specialist. One Expert by Experience carried out telephone calls to people and their relatives. 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, flats and specialist housing.

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. 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. Inspection activity started on 13 October 2021 and ended on 25 October 2021. We visited the office location on 13 October 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection-

We spoke with 10 people who used the service and eight relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager and two office staff. We reviewed a range of records. This included 18 people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at eight 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 received email feedback from 11 staff members.

Updated 1 December 2021

About the service

Handle with Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. The service was supporting 82 people at the time of the inspection, including older people, those living with dementia and people with a physical disability. 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 and their relatives told us they felt safe and the provider met their needs. Medicines records did not always contain the required detail, we made a recommendation about this. Some care plans and risk assessments required further detail, but staff knew people well and understood how to support them safely. Staff had good access to PPE to ensure people were protected from the risk of infection.

Information about people’s health needs was not always described within their care plan or risk assessment, although some detail was documented. We made a recommendation about this.

Peoples needs were assessed prior to them using the service. 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. Staff received a variety of training to improve their skills and knowledge and worked with other organisations to deliver effective care, support and treatment. Staff told us how they gained consent from people before supporting them.

People and their relatives told us staff were caring. They were encouraged to share their feedback via yearly questionnaires, during visits and had access to the office numbers if they wanted to speak to the management team? Staff told us how they ensured people’s privacy, dignity and independence was respected and promoted.

Care plans were person centred and people were supported to have personalised care which met their needs. All people and relatives we spoke to told us they knew how to make a complaint and felt their concerns would be listened to and acted upon. The provider had an end of life policy in place when required.

The registered manager had good oversite of the service. Systems and processes were in place to review and improve the service. The provider engaged people, their relatives and staff to ensure the service was moving forward and continuously improving. The registered manager had a good understanding of their regulatory requirements.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (Published 19 August 2019).

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.