Hands In Harmony Home Care Services Limited

Hands in Harmony Home Care Services Limited provides personal care and reablement support to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 60 people were using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive the regulated activity of personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of this inspection 30 people were receiving support with personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

We received exceptional feedback about the service. Comments from people who used the service and relatives were very complimentary and consistent stating they were extremely happy with the care, treatment and support the service provided.

There were exceptional relationships between people, their families, and members of staff. People and relatives told us about the positive impact the service had on their lives and how things had changed for the better. Each person was treated as an individual and as a result, their care was tailored to meet their exact needs.

There was an extremely positive culture within the service and the management team provided strong leadership and led by example. The management team had clear visions, values, and enthusiasm about how they wished the service to be provided and these values were shared with the whole staff team. Staff had clearly adopted the same ethos and enthusiasm and this showed in the way they spoke about people and their caring roles.

People told us they felt safe, and their care was well delivered. Detailed risk assessments were in place to protect people from the risk of harm. Robust procedures were in place to ensure care visits were not missed.

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 and managers were clear about their responsibility to safeguard people from abuse. People received care in their own homes from staff whose suitability was established through recruitment processes. People received their medicines safely and staff followed appropriate infection, prevention and control practices.

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 09 December 2018)

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of Safe and Well-led.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained Good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Hands in Harmony Home Care Services Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

People’s experience of using this service:

¿ People felt safe having their care provided by staff at the service. Risk assessments were in place to identify possible risks to people`s health and well-being and measures were implemented to mitigate the risks. Staffing levels were appropriate to meet the needs of the people using the service. Medicines were safely managed.

¿ Staff knew the people they supported well. They received regular training updates. People’s care and health needs were identified so staff could meet these. People were supported to maintain good health. Staff worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and ensured people consented to their care.

¿ People’s privacy and dignity was protected and promoted. People had developed good relationships with staff who had a good understanding of their needs and preferences.

¿ People told us staff were kind and caring and helped them. People`s personal information was kept confidential. People were involved in discussions about their care and felt that communication with staff and the management was good. People told us they had not had to raise any concerns. They said they would be confident they would be listened to should they need to do so.

¿ People received person centred care that met their needs. Care plans gave details of how people would like their needs met.

¿ People and staff told us the service was well managed. Staff said the service had a family atmosphere and they felt well-supported.

Managers and staff worked in partnership with other agencies to ensure people got the care and support they needed.

Rating at last inspection: Good (Published in June 2016).

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

Follow up: We will continue to monitor all intelligence received about the service to ensure the next inspection is scheduled accordingly.

Everycare Bedford provides personal care and enablement support to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 31 people were receiving care and support from the service.

At our previous inspection on 18 September 2015 we found that regulations relating to safe care and treatment and good governance were not being met. People’s medication administration record sheets were not appropriately maintained; and the systems in place to monitor the quality of the service were not effective. The provider submitted an action plan and said that compliance would be achieved fully in January 2016. During this inspection we looked at these areas to see whether improvements had been made. We found that the provider was now meeting the regulations.

The service has a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons.’ Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Staff had been provided with safeguarding training to protect people from abuse and avoidable harm. There were risk management plans in place to protect and promote people’s safety. Staffing numbers were suitable to keep people safe. Robust recruitment practices were being followed to ensure suitable staff were employed. Improvements had been made in the recording and administration of people’s medicines to ensure that they were administered in a consistent manner.

Staff received appropriate training to support people with their care needs. People were matched with staff who were aware of their care needs. If required, staff provided people with food and drinks to maintain a healthy diet. If needed, staff supported people to access healthcare services.

Staff treated people with kindness and compassion and had established positive and caring relationships with them. People were able to express their views and to be involved in making decisions in relation to their care and support. Staff ensured people’s privacy and dignity were promoted.

People’s needs were assessed prior to them receiving care. This ensured the care provided would be personalised and responsive to their needs. The system in place to ensure that complaints were recorded appropriately had been reviewed. A clear audit trail from the outcome of complaints investigated was now in place.

There was a culture of openness and inclusion at the service. The management team demonstrated positive leadership skills. This inspired staff to deliver a quality service. The quality monitoring system had been improved; and was being used to drive continuous improvements.