Archived: Helping Hands North

Updated 5 August 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 05 May 2016 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector who visited the provider’s premises.

At the time of our inspection there were 38 people using the service. We spoke on the telephone with three people who used the service and four relatives. We spoke with six members of staff, a field care supervisor and the registered manager. We spent time looking at documents and records that related to people’s care and the management of the service. We looked at four people’s care and support plans.

Before our inspection, we reviewed all the information we held about this service, including previous inspection reports. We contacted the local authority and Healthwatch. Both the local authority and Healthwatch stated they had no comments or concerns about this service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

We sometimes ask providers to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. On this occasion we did not ask the provider to compete a PIR.

Updated 5 August 2016

This was an announced inspection carried out on 05 May 2016. At the last inspection in June 2013 we found the provider was meeting the regulations we looked at.

Helping Hands North offers an hourly service and they cover live-in carer breaks as an hourly support service. Helping Hands North provides services for adults with a wide range of support needs including older people, adults with dementia, eating disorders, learning disabilities, mental health conditions, physical disabilities or sensory impairments.

At the time of this inspection the service had 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The registered provider did not have a mental capacity assessment in place for a person identified as not having capacity. Staff gave people choices where they were able to make their own decisions and people and relatives confirmed this happened.

Care plans were not always in place when a service commenced. Care plans required further detail to ensure they reflected person-centred care and support. Historical records of care plans were not retained which meant it was not possible to see how services had changed based on reviews and day-to-day changes.

The registered provider did not have a system of audits to monitor quality levels in the service and demonstrate continuous improvement.

People who used the service felt safe and staff were able to describe the signs which could indicate abuse. Staff were familiar with the process for reporting abuse and were confident appropriate action would be taken. The recruitment procedures we looked at were safe and showed appropriate checks had been carried out before staff commenced working at the service.

People spoke positively about the staff who provided their care and support. We saw examples of extra steps the service took to ensure people were safe and well cared for. Staff were able to demonstrate how they helped to protect people’s privacy and dignity and people confirmed this happened.

The complaints we looked at had been responded to appropriately, although the service did not have systems in place to look for themes and trends.

People and relatives were satisfied they received a service which was provided as scheduled.

Most staff were satisfied they had sufficient time to travel between calls. People and relatives were not aware they could ask for a copy of their rota.

Training records we looked at showed most staff were up-to-date with their training programme.

Some staff received supervisions and appraisals as part of their ongoing support. Staff were aware of the need to report concerns about changes in people’s health to family members and the registered manager. People were supported by staff to have access to food and drink of their choice.

Staff administered medicines for some people who needed this assistance. Staff received training and competency checks for administering medicines. Medication administration records were not routinely reviewed by the service.

Staff were able to describe appropriate steps they would take in the event of an emergency. The service had an out of hours service and the registered manager was also available if needed. There was a positive culture amongst the staff team who felt welcome to visit the office and discuss any concerns. Staff spoke positively about the registered manager who they said they could approach with any concerns.

We found breaches of regulations of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.