Helping Hand is registered to provide personal care for adults of all ages in their own home. It can assist people who live with dementia or who have mental health needs. It can also support people who have a learning disability, special sensory needs and/or a physical disability. At the time of our inspection the service was providing care for 36 people most of whom were older people. The service had its office in Grantham and covered Grantham, Colsterworth, Corby Glen, Long Bennington, Allington and surrounding villages.

The service was owned and operated by an individual who was the registered provider. There was a registered manager in post. 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. In this report when we speak about both the registered provider and the registered manager we refer to them as being, 'the registered persons'.

We last completed an inspection of the service delivered by the registered provider on 27 September 2016. At that inspection we said that the overall quality rating for the service was, ‘Good’. Shortly after our inspection the registered provider opened a new and larger office from which to deliver the service and this change meant that the service was newly registered for the purposes of the Health and Social Care Act 2008. Although to all intents and purposes the service delivered by the registered provider is the same as before, we have completed the present inspection because of the new registration.

At the present inspection we found that there were systems, processes and practices to safeguard people from situations in which they may experience abuse including financial mistreatment. Risks to people’s safety had been assessed, monitored and managed so they were supported to stay safe while their freedom was respected. In addition, medicines were managed safely and sufficient numbers of suitable care staff had been deployed to complete care calls in the right way. Background checks had been completed before new care staff had been appointed. People were protected by there being arrangements to prevent and control infection and lessons had been learnt when things had gone wrong.

Care staff had been supported to deliver care in line with current best practice guidance. People received the assistance they needed to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet. In addition, suitable steps had been taken to ensure that people received coordinated and person-centred care when they used or moved between different services. People had been supported to live healthier lives by being supported to have suitable access to healthcare services so that they received on-going healthcare support.

Suitable arrangements had been made to obtain consent to care and treatment in line with legislation and guidance.

People were treated with kindness, respect and compassion and they were given emotional support when needed. They had also been supported to express their views and be actively involved in making decisions about their care as far as possible. This included there being provision to introduce them to lay advocates if necessary. Confidential information was kept private.

People received personalised care that was responsive to their needs. Care staff recognised the importance of promoting equality and diversity by supporting people to make choices about their lives. People’s concerns and complaints were listened and responded to in order to improve the quality of care. In addition, suitable provision had been made to support people at the end of their life to have a comfortable, dignified and pain-free death.

There was a positive culture in the service that was open, inclusive and focused upon achieving good