Helping Hands Mansfield

Updated 19 May 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

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 48 hours' notice of the inspection. This was because the service was small, and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 22 April 2022 and ended on 28 April 2022. We visited the office location on 22 April 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since their first registration. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We spoke with five relatives of people who used the service about their experience of the care. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, branch manager, care coordinator and care workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 19 May 2022

About the service

Helping Hands Mansfield is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. 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. At the time of this inspection 11 people were receiving support with personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People’s relatives told us that Helping Hands Mansfield delivered a safe service. Risks to people were assessed and measures were put in place to reduce them. There were safe infection control procedures in place including enough supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff. There were enough staff to meet the needs of the people using the service and recruitment was ongoing, with all necessary recruitment checks carried out.

People were consulted about their care before the services were provided. Staff received appropriate training for their roles and people felt they had good knowledge and skills. People’s care plans included all information needed to support people safely and in accordance with their wishes and preferences. Staff had received an induction into their role and the management team monitored this to ensure training remained up to date.

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.

Relative’s told us their family members were treated with kindness and compassion, their privacy was respected. People knew how to make a complaint or raise a concern.

There were robust monitoring processes in place to help ensure a good standard of service. Quality assurance systems identified any areas that needed further development. Staff told us they enjoyed working for the service and told us the culture was to ensure care was person centred.

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 March 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out due to the length of time the provider had been registered with CQC without receiving a formal rating.

Follow up

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