Helping Hands Basingstoke achieved an overall Good rating at its first inspection, with staff delivering safe, caring, responsive and well-led care to 26 people. The Requires Improvement rating for Effective reflects inconsistent needs assessments, gaps in healthcare care planning, and incomplete Mental Capacity Act processes, for which recommendations were made.
Concerns (5)
moderate
Care planning
: “Some aspects of best practice guidance had not been applied in assessing people's care needs - such as assessing people's malnutrition risk.”
moderateConsent / capacity: “Some people had conditions with symptoms which could affect their capacity to consent...the provider had not undertaken a capacity assessment.”
moderateMedication management: “Some records contained some inconsistencies, and MAR charts were not double checked to ensure they were correct, in line with prescriptions.”
moderateCare planning: “One person had diabetes and their care plan did not include information about how to manage this effectively.”
minorConsent / capacity: “One person's care plan had been signed by their legal representative, however they had capacity to consent and so should be asked to sign themselves.”
Strengths
· Staff were aware of signs of neglect or abuse and knew how to report concerns using the app, with good management follow-up.
· Robust staff recruitment procedures including DBS checks and references.
· Medicines care plans in place and staff competencies assessed for medicines administration.
· Effective infection prevention and control measures confirmed across all assessed areas.
· Good incident reporting system with out-of-hours support for staff.
Quality-Statement breakdown (26)
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseGood
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementGood
safe: Staffing and recruitmentGood
safe: Using medicines safelyGood
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
safe: Learning lessons when things go wrongGood
effective: Assessing people's needs and choices; delivering care in line with standards, guidance and the lawRequires improvement
effective: Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidanceRequires improvement
effective: Supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced dietRequires improvement
effective: Supporting people to live healthier lives, access healthcare services and supportRequires improvement
effective: Staff support: induction, training, skills and experienceGood
effective: Staff working with other agencies to provide consistent, effective, timely careGood
caring: Ensuring people are well treated and supported; respecting equality and diversityGood
caring: Supporting people to express their views and be involved in making decisions about their careGood
caring: Respecting and promoting people's privacy, dignity and independenceGood
responsive: Planning personalised care to ensure people have choice and control and to meet their needs and preferencesGood
responsive: Meeting people's communication needsGood
responsive: Supporting people to develop and maintain relationships to avoid social isolationGood
responsive: Improving care quality in response to complaints or concernsGood
responsive: End of life care and supportGood
well-led: Promoting a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empoweringGood
well-led: How the provider understands and acts on the duty of candourGood
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about their roles, and understanding quality performance, risks and regulatory requirementsGood
well-led: Engaging and involving people using the service, the public and staffGood
well-led: Continuous learning and improving careGood