5 June 2018
During a routine inspection
Help and Company at Home Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses in the community and provides a service to adults. On the day of the inspection the service was supporting twenty-five people with a range of health and social care needs, such as people with a physical disability, sensory impairment or people living with dementia. Support was tailored according to people’s assessed needs within the context of people’s individual preferences and lifestyles to help people to live and maintain independent lives and remain in their homes.
At the last inspection on 24 November 2015, the service was rated as good in the areas of Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the overall rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.
Sufficient staff remained available to ensure people's wellbeing and safety was protected. A robust recruitment and selection process was also in place. This ensured prospective new staff have the right skills and were suitable to work with people living in the home.
Staff had a good understanding of systems in place to manage medicines. People were supported to receive their medicines safely.
Staff considered peoples capacity using the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) as guidance. People’s capacity to make decisions had been assessed. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Staff remained kind and caring and had developed good relationships with people. People told us they were comfortable in the presence of staff. Relatives confirmed the staff were caring and looked after people well. People were provided with the care, support and equipment they needed to stay independent in their homes.
People were provided with information and guidance to access other services which were relevant to them for any on-going support they may need.
People’s individual needs continued to be assessed and detailed care plans were developed to identify what care and support they required. People were consulted about their care to ensure wishes and preferences were met.
Staff continued to receive regular training and updates to be able to have the right skills and knowledge to be able to meet people’s assessed needs. Staff had regular spot checks, supervisions and appraisals to help them to understand their roles and responsibilities.
Quality assurance and information governance systems remained in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. People and relatives all told us that they were happy with the service provided and the way it was managed.
Further information is in the detailed findings below