Help at Home Leicester

Updated 22 December 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 three inspectors and three experts 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 home.

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, and provided an explanation as to the inspection process, and to assure ourselves of the effective implementation of Covid-19 guidance when visiting the office.

Inspection activity started on 19 November 2020 and ended on 26 November 2020. We visited the office location on 19 November 2020.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. We used all this information to plan our 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.

During the inspection

We spoke with 34 people who used the service and 16 relatives of people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 14 members of staff including the registered manager, regional manager, compliance officer, electronic care management officer and 10 care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s risk assessments and care plans, three staff recruitment files and training records. We looked at documents related to the management of the service. including systems and outcomes to monitor the quality of the service provided.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provided to validate evidence found. We looked at training data, policies and procedures and quality assurance records. We sought additional information and clarification in response to comments and feedback that we received from people and family members.

Updated 22 December 2020

About the service

Help at Home Leicester is a domiciliary care service. The service provides care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection there were 517 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

Many people told us they would recommend the service to others. They told us they felt safe because they had confidence in staff’s ability to provide them with the support and care they need. Most people told us they were supported and cared for by staff who they were familiar with, and this contributed toward their feeling safe.

People’s safety was promoted by staff who followed guidance on how to reduce potential risk. People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who had undergone a robust recruitment process. People were supported with their medicines. Staff training in key safety areas promoted people’s safety, which included staff knowledge and understanding of reporting potential safeguarding concerns, and following infection control procedures.

The provider had developed a contingency plan in response to Covid-19, and had adopted government guidance. People’s needs had been considered, and people and family members contacted to discuss their care during the pandemic. To reduce the potential spread of infection, paper-based information, including copies off rotas and surveys were no longer used. This meant all communications were via e-mail or phone.

People’s records detailed potential risks associated with their care, and provided clear guidance for staff as to how to minimise risk. Information was stored electronically, and all information about people’s needs was accessible to staff using hand-held devices. Staff updated records to detail the care and support as and when it was provided.

A few people expressed the service from office-based staff was not always timely, and communication could sometimes fall short of their expectations. This had been highlighted by the registered manager as an area for improvement, and personnel changes had been made to bring about improvement.

The provider was aware of their role and responsibilities in meeting their legal obligations. Systems to monitor the quality of the service were in place and were used to develop the service and drive improvement. Records were securely and accurately maintained.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 11 September 2019).

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 29 July 2019. A breach of legal requirements was found. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check improvements had been made and that they now met the legal requirements. The inspection was also prompted in part due to concerns regarding the oversight and monitoring of the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions of Safe and Well-led.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Help at Home Leicester on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.