Archived: Home Helpers Care Ltd

Updated 4 July 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and one Expert by Experience made telephone calls to people using the service and their relatives. 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 provides care and support to people living in their own homes, so that they can live as independently as possible. The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. The previous registered manager left in April 2019. The new manager had applied to become registered which 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 two working days’ notice of the inspection site visit because we needed to be sure that the manager would be available.

Inspection site visit activity started on 16 May 2019 where we visited the services office to review records and other documents relating to the running of the service.

What we did:

Before the inspection, we asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We looked at the PIR and at notifications we had received. Notifications are certain events that providers are required by law to tell us about.

During our inspection we spoke with the manager, one of the directors, training manager, HR manager, a care staff supervisor and an office administrator. We checked recruitment, training and supervision records for four staff and we looked at four people’s care records. We also looked at a range of records about how the service was managed. We contacted two people and eight relatives who provided feedback on the service. After the inspection we had feedback from 8 members of care staff.

Updated 4 July 2019

About the service.

Home Helpers Care Ltd is a domiciliary care service supporting people in their own homes in the Oxfordshire area. At the time of our announced inspection the service was supporting 47 people.

Since the last inspection, the service had a change of company and was now known as Home Helpers Care Ltd. All staff remained with the company and people continued to receive a service throughout the change. When there is a change of ownership, the ratings information and inspection reports now stay with the location. This ensures transparency for the public and ensures providers will not lose any existing ratings for their locations.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were safe. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff were aware of their responsibilities to report concerns and understood how to keep people safe. We saw that risks to safety and well-being were managed through a risk management process. There were systems in place to manage safe administration of medicines.

People had their needs assessed prior to receiving care to ensure staff were able to meet their needs. Staff worked with various local social and health care professionals.

People were supported by staff that had the right skills and knowledge to fulfil their roles effectively. Staff told us they were well supported by the management team.

People were treated with respect and their dignity was maintained. They were also supported to maintain their independence. Staff knew how to support people without breaching their rights.

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.

People and their relatives knew how to complain, and a complaints policy was in place.

The service was well-led. The manager promoted a positive, transparent and open culture where staff worked well as a team. The provider had effective quality assurance systems in place which were used to drive improvement. The provider worked well in partnership with other organisations.

Rating at last inspection: Good. Report published 2 September 2016.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned, routine inspection.

Follow up:

We will monitor all information received about the service to understand any risks that may arise and to ensure the next planned inspection is scheduled accordingly.

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