The inspection took place on 5 January 2017. We gave notice of our intention to visit Helping Hands Allcare Limited to make sure people we needed to speak with were available.

Helping Hands Allcare Limited is a home care service providing personal care services to people in their own homes on Hayling Island in Hampshire. At the time of this inspection there were 124 people living on the island who received personal care services. There were also four people registered with the service who were supported when they came to the island on holiday.

There was no registered manager in place at the time of our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are “registered persons”. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The provider's HR manager had taken over the management of the service after the previous registered manager left in November 2016 and is referred to as "the manager" in this report.

The provider had arrangements in place to protect people from risks to their safety and welfare, including the risks of avoidable harm and abuse. Staffing levels were sufficient to support people according to their agreed call rotas. Recruitment processes were in place to make sure the provider only employed workers who were suitable to work in a care setting. There were arrangements in place to handle and administer medicines safely and in accordance with people’s preferences.

Staff received appropriate training and supervision to maintain and develop their skills and knowledge to support people according to their needs. Staff were aware of the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, although nobody supported at the time of our inspection had been assessed as lacking capacity. Where staff supported people by preparing their meals, this was done according to their preferences. People were supported to access healthcare services, such as GPs and paramedics.

Care workers had developed caring relationships with people they supported. People were encouraged to take part in decisions about their care and support and their views were listened to. Staff respected people’s confidentiality, independence, privacy, and dignity.

Care and support were based on assessments and plans which took into account people’s abilities, needs and preferences. People told us they had the same care workers on a regular basis, and there were no issues around missed or late calls. People were kept aware of the provider’s complaints procedure, and complaints were managed in a professional manner.

The provider communicated a caring ethos. Systems were in place to make sure the service was managed efficiently and to monitor and assess the quality of service provided. People told us the service was flexible and responsive to their needs.