Archived: Helping Hands Bolton

Updated 10 February 2021

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 two inspectors and an Expert 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

Helping Hands is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

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

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 14 January 2021 and ended on 19 January 2021 We visited the office location on 14 January to see the registered manager and office staff, to review care records and other records related to the running of the service. We looked at a wide range of information we had requested to be sent to us on 15, 18 and 19 January. We spoke with the relatives of people who used the service on 15 and 18 January to seek their feedback and opinions of the service provided. We spoke to staff on 15 January.

What we did before the 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. We sought feedback from the local authority.

During the inspection

We spoke with 17 relatives of people using the service about their experience of the care provided, this was because people who used the service preferred that we spoke to their relatives. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager and care workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included 11 people’s care records and medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, audits and governance information, newsletters and memos. We looked at records of accidents and incidents, compliments and complaints, staff training records, organisational oversight audits and action plans. We looked at surveys completed by people who used the service, their relatives and staff. We looked at the provider's statement of purpose and service user guide and the provider's business contingency plan.

Updated 10 February 2021

About the service

Helping Hands Bolton is a domiciliary service which provides personal care to adults with a range of support needs in their houses and flats. At the time of this inspection the service was supporting 149 people.

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

Systems were in place to recruit staff safely. Recruitment processes were robust and helped to ensure staff were of suitable character and had relevant experience to work with vulnerable people. Staff had awareness of safeguarding and knew how to raise concerns. Steps were taken to minimise risks where possible. Risks to people's health and well-being were identified and monitored. Guidance was in place for staff on how to support people with these risks; this included how to evacuate a person's home in the case of an emergency. People’s needs were comprehensively assessed before starting with the service; people and their relatives, where appropriate, had been involved in the care planning process.

People were supported by regular and familiar staff, which provided continuity of care and people confirmed this. Staff had developed supportive relationships with people and knew them well; people received person-centred care as a result. Staff supported some people to access healthcare professionals when required and supported some people to manage their medicines safely. Staff were competent and had the skills and knowledge to enable them to support people safely and effectively. Staff received the training and support they needed to carry out their roles effectively and received regular supervisions, competency checks and appraisals; staff we spoke with confirmed this. 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 promoted people's independence and treated them with dignity and respect. People were involved in making decisions about their care and involved in reviews to ensure their care plans met their needs and supported them to achieve outcomes. Staff supported some people to access the community. People and their relatives were complimentary about the staff and their caring attitude. People’s care plans were person-centred and provided staff with the information they needed to provide care and support in a way that met people’s needs and preferences. People knew how to make a complaint. There was an effective complaints process in place to deal with any complaints that might be raised in the future.

The registered manager and staff were committed to providing high quality care and support for people. The service had an open and supportive culture. Systems were in place to monitor the quality and safety of care delivered. There was evidence of improvement and learning from any actions identified. The provider and registered manager followed governance systems which provided effective oversight and monitoring of the service. These governance systems and processes were robust and identified areas of the service where improvements were needed. The registered manager completed internal audits to ensure the service provided to people was safe and effective. The provider also completed a range of audits and monitoring which helped to drive improvements in the service. People, their relatives, and advocates gave feedback on the quality of the service provided and told us their concerns were listened to, investigated and resolved where possible.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 31/01/2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

The service was inspected to create capacity within local systems, as it had not had an inspection since first registering with CQC.

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.