Kind Hands Caring Services Ltd

Updated 26 June 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

The inspection was carried out by one 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 and flats.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

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 registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the 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 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 of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 10 people who used the service and 10 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the registered manager, care manager and care workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and their 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 requested additional information, this was sent promptly and included duty rotas, staff training and minutes of meetings.

Updated 26 June 2019

About the service

Kind Hands Caring Services provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. Personal care can be provided for people living with dementia, mental health needs, older people, younger adults and people with a physical disability or sensory impairment. At the time of the inspection 60 people received assistance with personal care.

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 positive about the support provided by Kind Hands Caring Services and relatives said the care staff offered the care their family members needed. Staff knew people very well and treated them with kindness and respect. They demonstrated a good understanding of people’s individual needs and assisted them to access healthcare services when needed.

Staff understood risks associated with the people they supported and risk assessments in the support plans provided additional information and guidance for staff to reduce risk as much as possible. People were protected from the risks of harm, abuse or discrimination because staff knew what actions to take if they identified concerns.

People were supported to receive their medicines when they needed them. There were enough staff working to provide the support people needed, at times of their choice. Recruitment procedures ensured only suitable staff worked at the service.

There were enough staff working for the service and ongoing training and supervision meant they were aware of their roles and responsibility; which ensured they had the skills to provide good quality care for people. For example, staff had completed medicine training, their competency had been assessed and people were assisted with their medicines when they needed them

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.

The management were well thought of and supportive to people and staff. The registered manager had a good overview of the service. There were systems in place to assess and monitor the service to identify if improvements were needed and action was taken to address these.

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 16 November 2016).

Why we inspected - This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will review the service in line with our methodology for 'Good' services.