A CQC regulated service
A fully regulated service across England & Wales
Unlike some other home care providers such as agencies, the service you receive from Helping Hands is fully regulated, inspected and rated.
We welcome and comply with the registration and inspection and auditing process that regulation brings. We firmly believe that this commitment to transparency and quality can only drive the best possible experience for the families we support.
We are fully regulated by the:
What is the Care Quality Commission?

What is the Care Quality Commission?
If you’re new to health and social care, it’s likely that you haven’t come across the CQC before. Therefore it’s important you know who they are and what the benefits of working with a fully-managed and regulated service are.
Below is a step-by-step guide to everything you need to know.
The CQC is the independent regulator of Health and Social Care in England, with the objective of ensuring that people have access to safe, caring, effective, responsive and well-led care services. They monitor, inspect and regulate these services to ensure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety. They publish what they find and give each provider performance ratings.
The benefits of a regulated care service

At Helping Hands, we believe regulated home support is the best option for dementia care.
Regulated home care from Helping Hands offers the extra support, reassurance, and companionship that may be needed for you to continue living independently at home. The assurances provided by regulated home care services enable you to live safely and comfortably in the place you know best – your home. From daily or weekly care visits, right through to the dedicated support of a live-in carer, there are plenty of homecare services available, even on a short-term, hour-by-hour basis.
Independent inspections
Independent inspections (audits) conducted by a regulatory body to give you peace of mind that we do what we say we will do
Regulatory standards
We have to comply with regulatory standards to maintain our registration, meaning our customers are reassured that they are receiving a high standard of care
A safe service
We will not take on care that is unsafe or that would put our customers or carers at risk, ensuring a safe service is provided at all times
Vetting and checks
Our carers are vetted and checked through a robust recruitment process which complies with the regulations (interviewed, application form, a minimum of two references, fully-enhanced DBS check)
Regular reports
We provide reports to the regulator to ensure they have confidence in the way we manage the service. This assures our customers that we will be open and honest with them and share information as and when required.
Feedback opportunities
Our customers can provide feedback to the CQC on the service we provide. This allows them to have a voice, ensuring that good care is praised and any poor care is highlighted.
Supervision and development
The ongoing supervision and development provided for all of our staff in the form of supervisions, appraisals, direct observations and training. All staff undergo regular supervisions and are able to further their development by attending training on specialist areas such as dementia care, nursing care and other management courses.
Inter-organisation collaboration
The CQC works with other bodies (e.g. the Health & Safety Executive, Health Watch and the local government ombudsman) to ascertain how a service is performing. This reassures our customers that our service is of a high standard, as there are numerous times where information is obtained before an inspection is conducted and an outcome is provided.
Training
Training for all carers and staff is in line with the Care Certificate, meaning our employees are trained to a nationally-recognised standard before they work unsupervised with our customers, providing a safe and responsive service. We provide all of our carers with training for dementia care, moving and handling, first aid, and so much more.
Key questions asked by the CQC
There are five key questions asked by the CQC of care providers during the regulation process. They are often referred to as Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOEs):
Are they safe?
You (the customer) are protected from abuse and avoidable harm
Are they effective?
Staff involve and treat you with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect
Are they responsive to people’s needs?
Services are organised so that they meet your needs
Are they well led?
High-quality care that is based around your individual needs, encourages learning and innovation, and promotes an open and fair culture
Are they effective?
Your care, treatment and support achieves good outcomes, helps you to maintain quality of life and is based on the best available evidence
We scored 'Good'
Helping Hands scored ‘Good’ in response to all five questions, reflecting our commitment to providing safe and reliable home care
View our latest report and summary on the CQC website:
How is Helping Hands rated by the CQC?

Typically, our main service is inspected every two years. Following the CQC’s inspections of our live-in care services in June 2018 the final report was published in August 2018. We are pleased to have achieved an overall rating of GOOD.
Our branches are inspected on an individual basis and all achieve separate ratings from the CQC. Visit our branch pages to see each of their individual ratings. The ratings we’ve received from the CQC are down to the ongoing hard work and commitment of not just the registered managers of our service, but everyone working across support teams, local managers and, of course, our wonderful, committed carer team. Our commitment to quality never stops at Helping Hands; we have a separate team dedicated to just that, always working to drive continuous compliance and improvement.
Compliance – our ongoing commitment
At Helping Hands, we're committed to providing a consistent, high-quality service.
Our central quality function allows for a consistent approach to processes and monitoring, meaning our customers can have support from any of our locations and receive the same high standard of care. This is achieved through:

We achieve consistency through:
Independent auditing
Independent internal auditing/compliance checks to ensure that regulatory compliance is being met and values are being reflected. The quality team frequently reviews current practices to ensure that the customer is receiving the best possible service available.
Central surveys
Centrally-held surveys allow an independent review of feedback that can be fed back to a care provider and all parties concerned, ensuring that action is taken and followed through by different departments
Escalation of concerns
An escalation service; if the customer wants to escalate their concerns about the service or individuals then they will be able to do so, confident that it will be addressed and overseen independently
Data analysis
A central function to analyse and report on trends of data, looking for best practice and lessons learnt that can be shared across the business to ensure that we are always striving to improve the service provided
Strict protocol for new branches
The registration of new branches is co-ordinated independently and in a timely manner through to completion, ensuring a safe and regulated service
Up-to-date policies
Policies and procedures are updated in line with legal and regulatory requirements, meaning that our customers receive a service that reflects up-to-date practices
Liaising with local authorities
The Quality Team also act as a central point of contact for local authorities in respect of the monitoring of existing contracts and as an escalation point for complaints/safeguarding/concerns raised with the company, ensuring things are acted up quickly and effectively so that our customers receive a positive customer service experience
Dedicated Quality Team
The Quality Team act as a central point of contact for outside agencies making data requests, preparing documentation and ensuring that it is sent to the requester within stipulated timescales, ensuring that customers are not delayed in applying for further funding i.e. through Continuing Healthcare (CHC) teams
Arrange regulated care today
We try to make arranging care simple and stress-free so that we can focus on what really matters: your care needs. Speak to our team today to begin your journey.
Speak to our team
Call our team of experts to talk through your options and any questions you may have
Free home care assessment
Your local Helping Hands manager will visit you to discuss your care requirements
Find your carer
We’ll help to match you with a carer who meets your preferences and has the right skills