Updated 7 August 2019
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
This inspection was carried out by an inspector 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.
The registered manager of the service had very recently left the service and Helping Hands Middlesbrough was being managed by a manager from one of the provider’s other branches. The acting manager informed us that recruitment for a new registered manager had taken place. A registered manager, along with 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 it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or acting manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We contacted Healthwatch for feedback about the service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with five people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the acting manager, a care and training practitioner and three care workers. We also spoke with a representative of the provider.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and three people’s 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.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at the training matrix for the service and staff rotas.