About the service Helping Hands Maidstone is a domiciliary care service registered to provide personal care for older people, people who live with dementia, people who have learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder and people who misuse drugs and alcohol. 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. At the time of our inspection 28 people were receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and their relatives were positive in their feedback about the service and said they would recommend them to others. Comments from people included, “The best I’ve had, have confidence the agency will deal with issues”, “So friendly, they are my mates [staff]. They help make me look gorgeous, we have a laugh” and, “I find them brilliant.” A relative said, “So far, nothing they could do better, much better than the previous agency.”
People felt safe receiving support from staff they knew well. People’s needs were assessed prior to receiving care and, this information was transferred into their care plan. Staff understood the importance of meeting people’s needs, wishes and preferences. People were involved in the development and review of their care plan.
People were supported to manage their medicines safely with support from trained and competent staff. Potential risks posed to people and staff had been monitored and minimised. Internal and external risks within people’s properties had been assessed. Action was taken to reduce the reoccurrence of accidents.
Staff followed guidance from healthcare professionals to ensure people remained as healthy as possible. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s specific health needs. People, if required, were supported to maintain their nutrition and hydration.
People’s likes, dislikes and personal histories were recorded within their care plan. People’s privacy and dignity was protected whilst encouraging people to be as independent as possible.
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 felt supported in their role by the management team and were given the training, support and guidance they required, to fulfil their role. Staff had been recruited safely with checks in place reduce the risk of unsafe staff working with people.
People’s feedback, concerns and complaints were listened to and acted on. There were a range of checks and audits in place to promote a high-quality service and continuously improve.
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 18 August 2017).
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.