Helping Hands Fareham

Updated 3 November 2023

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 2 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

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

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

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 we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 6 October 2023 and ended on 13 October 2023. We visited the office location on 6 October 2023.

What we did before the inspection

Prior to our inspection, we reviewed information we held about the service. This included the previous inspection report and notifications. Notifications are information about specific important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager for Helping Hands Fareham and 6 staff members. We also spoke with 5 people who use the service and 5 relatives.

We reviewed a range of records, including 6 people’s care records in detail and staff records in relation to recruitment and training. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, policies and procedures, complaints and compliments and surveys were also reviewed.

Updated 3 November 2023

About the service

Helping Hands Fareham is a service providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 52 people using the service. 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

People were supported by staff who knew how to prevent and manage risks and keep people safe. Systems were in place to reduce the risks of avoidable harm and abuse.

Recruitment practices were safe and there were sufficient numbers of consistent staff available to meet people’s needs. People received their medicines as prescribed. The service's arrangements for controlling infection were effective.

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 received effective training that gave them the skills to support people with their needs. All people and relatives spoken with were confident in the staff’s abilities and thought staff had the right skills to look after them. New staff completed a comprehensive induction to their role prior to commencing employment and ongoing training and supervision was provided.

People were supported to access health and social care professionals if needed. The registered manager and office staff worked in close partnership with health and social care professionals and agencies to plan and deliver care and support. People were supported to meet their nutritional and medication needs where appropriate

People were positive about all aspects of the service and told us staff supported them in a kind and caring way. Staff treated people with dignity and respect. People were treated equally and had their human rights and diversity respected. People were encouraged and supported to remain independent.

Care plans were personalised, and ensured people received personal care tailored to meet their individual needs and wishes. People were encouraged to make decisions about the care and support they received and had their choices respected. People were confident that if they raised any issues, concerns or complaints these would be dealt with effectively by the registered manager.

The staff and management team were mindful of the risk of social isolation for people living in the community. People were supported by staff to attend social events that were important to them. Full consideration had been given to people’s communication needs to help ensure effective communication.

The registered manager was open and transparent and understood their regulatory responsibilities. People and their relatives felt the registered manager and staff were approachable and supportive. There were effective governance systems in place to identify concerns in the service and drive improvement. They were responsive to feedback from people, staff and professionals and acted to make improvements in the service. The service worked well with other partners, organisations and commissioners.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 26 July 2017).

Why we inspected

This comprehensive inspection was a planned inspection based on the date the service was last inspected.

Follow up

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