Helping Hands Exeter

“Helping Hands (Exeter) Ltd is a domiciliary care service and provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. At the time of the assessment they were providing personal care to 70 people.”

“Who the service is for”

“This service supports older people; people with physical disabilities; people with sensory impairments; younger people and people living with dementia, who are living in their own homes””

“Key findings”

“We carried out this assessment on 1 September 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.”

“People told us they felt safe with the staff supporting them and were confident concerns would be acted upon. Some were unclear about how to raise a concern, but the registered manager was already aware of this and taking action to address it.”

“Staff promoted a strong culture of safety through effective safeguarding practices, clear reporting procedures, and proactive risk management. A member of care staff said, “I’m very well versed in what to do if I’m concerned about any of my clients, and I have been made very aware of the signs and causes of abuse.” Risks were assessed and managed in partnership with people, helping to balance safety with independence and choice. Robust systems were in place to monitor and review accidents, incidents, and safeguarding concerns, enabling the service to identify themes, trends, and opportunities for learning and continuous improvement.”

“Staff were recruited safely, with appropriate pre-employment checks completed to help ensure they were suitable to work with people using the service.”

“Staff were well supported through training, supervision, spot checks, and competency assessments, and medicines management systems were robust. Staffing levels were generally sufficient to meet people's needs, visits were usually completed on time and for the correct duration, and people felt staff had the skills, equipment, and support needed to provide safe care. Some staff felt care runs across Exeter could be organised more efficiently, but this was not reported to affect people's safety or care. The registered manager responded to feedback given during the assessment, organising a meeting for staff to discuss their concerns.”

“People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment where there is appropriate legal authority. We assessed whether the service was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), ensuring people were not subject to unlawful or unnecessary restrictions and were supported to have choice, control, and independence in their daily lives. People told us staff sought their consent appropriately and involved them in decisions about their care wherever possible. Staff demonstrated an understanding of supporting people to make their own decisions and recognised the importance of respecting people's wishes when they had capacity to do so. One member of staff said, “Consent is such a major aspect. If a client says no, you have to respect it. They've got capacity until deemed not to.” The service was aware of when people had legally authorised representatives, such as those holding a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), to make decisions on their behalf.”

“Where required, people's capacity was assessed, and decisions were made in their best interests in line with the MCA. Although some gaps were identified in staff understanding of the MCA and its practical application, leaders were taking action through additional training…”