Help at Home Care Service

Updated 8 November 2017

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.

The inspection of Help at Home Domiciliary Care Agency took place on 1 & 5 September 2017 and the provider was given a few days’ notice of the inspection in accordance with our current methodology for the inspection of domiciliary care agencies. One inspector undertook the inspection.

During our visit to the agency offices we looked at the care records for three people who used the service and at the training and recruitment records for two members of staff. We also looked at records relating to how complaints were managed and how the provider checked the quality of the service.

During the inspection we visited two people in their own homes, to speak with them and look at their care records with their consent. Following the inspection we contacted four people who used the service and four relatives by telephone and spoke with four members of the care staff. We also spoke with the registered manager and deputy manager.

Before the inspection, the provider completed 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. We reviewed the information we held about the service, including the information in the PIR, before we visited the service. We also contacted the local authority commissioning team for their views of the service.

Updated 8 November 2017

We carried out this announced inspection on 1 and 5 September 2017. The inspection was announced a day advance in accordance with the Care Quality Commission’s current procedures for inspecting domiciliary care services. This was the first inspection since the service moved premises which generated a new registration certificate in September 2016.

Help at Home Domiciliary Care Agency is a community service that provides care and support to adults in their own homes. The service supports people in Falmouth, Mylor and Penryn. Services offered by the agency include personal care, shopping, housework and preparing meals and includes supporting people living with dementia. The service mainly provides personal care for people in short visits at key times of the day to help them get up in the morning, go to bed at night and support with meals.

At the time of our inspection 50 people were receiving a personal care service. These services were funded either privately or through Cornwall Council.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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. During our inspection the registered manager was present.

The feedback we received from people was positive; they expressed satisfaction with the caring attitude of staff and the reliability of the service. People were happy about how the way in which care was delivered. People and relatives consistently gave us positive feedback about how the service was personalised to meet people's individual needs. Comments included, “They (staff) are very punctual but they do let you know if the times are going to vary. You know if they are going to be a bit later or earlier which is fine by us,” Relatives said, “Likes them coming and you can hear (Person’s name) laughing and chatting away with them (staff)” and “They (staff) are excellent, really good, the girls are so nice and helpful.”

People had a care plan that provided staff with direction and guidance about how to meet people’s individual needs and wishes. These care plans were regularly reviewed and any changes in people’s needs were communicated to staff. Assessments were carried out to identify any risks to the person using the service and to the staff supporting them. This included any environmental risks in people’s homes and any risks in relation to the care and support needs of the person.

People received support from staff who they knew and who had the skills and knowledge to provide their care. There were enough staff to provide support as people needed it. All new staff were checked to make sure they were suitable and safe to work in people’s homes.

People were supported to maintain their independence and to remain in their own homes. This was very important to them and they valued the support they received.

Medicines were handled safely and people received the support they required to maintain their health. People received the support they needed with preparing their meals and drinks.

People agreed to the support they received and their wishes and rights were respected.

The service was acting within the legal framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005(MCA). Management and staff understood how to ensure people who did not have the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves had their legal rights protected.

There were effective quality assurance systems in place to help ensure any areas for improvement were identified and action taken to continuously review and improve the quality of the service provided. People told us they were regularly asked for their views about the quality of the service they received.

People had details of how to raise a complaint and told us they would be happy to make a complaint if they needed to. There was a clear well understood management structure in place and staff told us the service on call systems worked well.