About the serviceHelping Hands Wokingham is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. The service supported older people, people living with dementia and people with a physical disability. Not everyone who uses the service may receive personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal, support with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection it the service was providing personal care to 34 people in the Wokingham, Windsor and Maidenhead area.
People's experience of using this service and what we found
In July 2019 the provider had completed a quality assurance audit, which identified that the service was failing to treat customers with dignity, due to shortfalls in service provision, there was a negative culture and evidence that customers had not been treated with compassion. The registered manager was unable to provide evidence to demonstrate effective monitoring of the service and the improvements made in relation to this audit.
People and their relatives had a mixed experience in relation to the management of the service. Some people did not receive consistent support from the office staff and did not believe the service was well-led. Some staff told us they felt supported and that concerns were dealt with in a timely way. However, other staff told us they thought the service was not effectively led. Some staff did not feel valued or supported by the management team.
Risks to people had been assessed to ensure they were supported to stay safe. However, where risks to people had been identified, risk assessments did not always detail how people wished to be supported by staff to reduce the risks identified.
During the summer 2019 some people had experienced missed calls. At the inspection the registered manager was able to demonstrate that minimum staffing levels were now being met to ensure people were safe. People told us that they received good quality care from their regular staff, whom they trusted. However, the recent high turnover of staff meant people may not always experience good continuity and consistency of care.
People were protected from avoidable harm by staff who had received appropriate training and knew how to recognise and report abuse.
People received their prescribed medicines safely from staff who had completed the required training and been assessed to be competent. Staff had the necessary skills to meet people's needs and were supported by the provider to maintain and develop their knowledge.
People had the necessary support to eat and drink to maintain a healthy balanced diet, in line with their needs and preferences.
Staff worked well with people, families and health and social care agencies to support people's wellbeing. People's health was effectively monitored by staff to ensure people received the right support from the wider health and social care network.
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 treated people with kindness and respect. People were supported to express their views about their care and their wishes were respected. People's privacy and dignity were respected and promoted during the delivery of their care.
The service was not supporting anyone with end of life care. However, the registered manager had provided people with the opportunity to discuss their wishes and preferences in this regard, which were subject to regular review. The service had received heartfelt thanks from family members of a person who had passed away, for the kindness and compassion provided by staff at the end of their life.
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 (report published 4 April 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.