This inspection took place on the 1 March 2017 and was announced.

Helping Hands Wokingham is a care agency which provides staff to support people in their own homes. People with various care needs can use this service including people with physical disabilities and older people. At the time of this inspection 60 people received care from this service.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.

People and their relatives told us that they felt safe with staff and would be confident to raise any concerns they had. The provider’s recruitment procedures were thorough and medicines were managed safely. There were sufficient staff to provide safe, effective care at the times agreed by the people who were using the service.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, in relation to their care package, and supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

There were procedures in place to manage risks to people and staff. Staff were aware of how to deal with emergency situations and knew how to keep people safe by reporting concerns promptly through processes that they understood well.

Staff received an induction and spent time working with experienced members of staff before working alone with people. Staff were supported to receive the training and development they needed to care for and support people’s individual needs.

The majority of people and their families spoke positively and were complimentary of the services provided. The comments we received demonstrated that the vast majority of people felt valued and listened to. People were treated with kindness and respect whilst their independence was promoted within their homes and the community. People received care and support from familiar and regular staff most of the time and some would recommend the service to other people.

People’s needs were reviewed and their care and support plans promoted person-centred care. Up to date information was generally communicated to the staff to ensure they could provide the appropriate care and support for each individual. Staff knew how to contact healthcare professionals in a timely manner if there were concerns about a person’s wellbeing.

The provider had a system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received and identified areas for improvement.