Helping Hands Dulwich

Updated 5 November 2022

The inspection

We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.

Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of one inspector and two 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 houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 31 August 2022 and ended on 16 September 2022.

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 and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service, five relatives and six members of staff including the registered manager and branch care manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and various staff records. We looked at and reviewed multiple documents submitted by the provider. These included policies and other information relevant to the running of the service.

This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location’s office. We used technology such as video calls to enable us to engage with people using the service and staff, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation.

Updated 5 November 2022

About the service

Helping Hands Dulwich is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes and flats. At the time of our inspection, 23 people were receiving personal care and support.

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 had mixed views about staff’s punctuality. Although enough numbers of staff were deployed to support people, a few had experienced delayed calls and missed visits. The majority of people felt safe with the care provided. Relatives’ comments received included, “[Person] is quite safe so far with all the staff that have attended” and “The fact that usually they’ve got ID and they’re in the uniform and they wear the face masks still.”

Staff were aware of safeguarding processes and knew how to identify and report allegations of abuse to protect people from the risk of avoidable harm. One person told us, “[Care staff] is absolutely marvellous. They keep me safe. Absolutely fine with the care.” Risks to people were assessed and management plans put in place to enable staff to provide care safely.

People were provided with the support they required to take their medicines safely. Safe recruitment practices ensured people were supported by staff vetted as suitable to provide care. Staff provided care in a manner which minimised the risk of contamination and spread of disease.

Staff were supported to undertake effectively their caring roles including undergoing training and supervisions. One person told us, “[Staff] are very easy going and professional.”

People told us staff were compassionate and caring. Comments we received included, “The main skills that they have is to be professional and have a caring attitude and all the staff I’ve met definitely possess that.” Staff respected people’s privacy, dignity and confidentiality. People were encouraged to maintain their independence and to undertake tasks they were able to do for themselves. Staff enabled people to make choices about their daily living.

People underwent an assessment of their health and wellbeing to ensure staff provided them with appropriate care. A relative told us, “Things are done properly.” People received healthcare services when required. People and their relatives were provided with information about how to make a complaint about any aspect of care delivered. Most people felt their concerns were resolved in a timely manner.

Quality assurances systems were used to identity and address shortcomings in care delivery. People, staff and relatives had opportunities to share their views about the service and in the majority, felt listened to. The provider worked in partnership with other agencies and health and social care professionals to provide suitable care to people 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.

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 the service under the previous provider was good, (published on 8 November 2018.)

Why we inspected?

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

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

This was an ‘inspection using remote technology’. This means we did not visit the office location and instead used technology such as electronic file sharing to gather information, and video and phone calls to engage with people using the service as part of this performance review and assessment.