Background to this inspection
Updated
11 February 2020
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
The inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides 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
This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 22 January 2020 and ended on 24 January 2020. We visited the office on the 22 January 2020 and spoke with people who use the service and relatives on the 24 January 2020.
What we did before the inspection
We looked at all the information we held about the service which included notifications. These are changes notifications about events or incidents that providers must tell us about. We also sought feedback from the local authority.
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 this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with six people who used the service and seven relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven staff that include the Compliance Business manager, the area manager, registered branch manager and four care and support staff.
We reviewed a range of records. This included seven people’s care records and medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, quality assurance checks, staff training records, and accident and incident information.
After the Inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence we found such as staff file audits and staff training records.
Updated
11 February 2020
About the service
Helping Hands Newport Pagnell is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection there were 81 people using the service.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (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. During this inspection there were 50 people receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People received safe care and were protected against avoidable harm, neglect and discrimination. Risks to people’s safety were assessed and strategies were put in place to reduce the risks.
People received support from staff who had undergone a robust recruitment process. They were supported by regular, consistent staff who knew them and their needs well.
Where the provider took on the responsibility, people's medicines were safely managed. Systems were in place to control and prevent the spread of infection. The provider ensured that lessons were learned when things went wrong, so that improvements could be made to the service and the care people received.
People’s needs, and choices were fully assessed before they received a care package. Staff received an induction and ongoing training that enabled them to have the skills and knowledge to provide effective care.
People were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain their health and well-being. Staff placed a strong emphasis on the dining experience to ensure it was enjoyed by all. For example, staff were able to cook people meals from fresh if they wanted to use this service.
Staff supported people to live healthier lives and access healthcare services. People could be supported to attend healthcare appointments if it was required.
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 had built up caring and compassionate relationships with the people they provided care to. People and relatives, where appropriate, were involved in the planning of people’s care and support. People's privacy and dignity was always maintained.
Care plans were detailed and supported staff to provide personalised care. There was a complaints procedure in place and systems to deal with complaints effectively. The service provided appropriate end of life care to people when required.
The service was well managed. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and actions were taken, and improvements were made when required. Everyone without exception praised highly the registered manager and senior staff team who they said were approachable, resourceful and provided strong leadership.
The service worked in partnership with outside agencies. Staff, people using the services and relatives were encouraged to provide feedback which was analysed and acted upon.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good. (published 1 August 2017)
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.