Archived: Lifeways Community Care (Doncaster)

Lifeways Community Care (Doncaster) is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care to people in Lincolnshire, Nottingham, Doncaster, Barnsley and Sheffield. They deliver care and support to people who live in supported living accommodation. The service supports people with a learning disability, physical disability and people with complex needs. At the time of this inspection there were 109 people using the service.

At the time of our inspection the service had 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.

The service had a policy in place to safeguard people from abuse. This included how to recognise the types of abuse. It also gave guidance to staff about how to report any concerns.

We looked at systems in place to manage people’s medicines in a safe way. We saw medication administration records (MARs) were completed appropriately.

We looked at care plans belonging to people who used the service and found they identified risks associated with people’s care. Staff we spoke with were knowledgeable about different risks and how to support them.

The service had a staff recruitment system in place to ensure the people employed were safe and suitable for the role they applied for. Pre-employment checks were obtained prior to people commencing employment.

Staff we spoke with told us they received appropriate training to carry out their role. This included subjects such as first aid, manual handling, food hygiene, infection control and safeguarding.

We found the service to be meeting the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

We looked at care plans which contained information about the person’s capacity to make decisions. We saw that mental capacity assessments had been undertaken and best interest decisions had been made where people lacked capacity to make a decision.

We spoke with people who used the service and looked at their support plans and found that support plans clearly identified the nutritional support people required.

People were supported to maintain good health, have access to healthcare services and received ongoing healthcare support. We looked at people’s records and found they had received support from healthcare professionals when required.

Care plans we looked at contained information about people’s likes and dislikes and food preferences. For example, one person liked holidays, baking, shopping, and films.

Staff we spoke with knew how to preserve people’s dignity and gave examples of how they respected people.

People’s needs were assessed and care and support was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. We looked at a selection of care plans and found they included the desired outcomes for the person.

The service had a complaints procedure in place and the company welcomed them as an opportunity to learn, adapt, improve and provide a better service. People we spoke with were confident that any concerns raised would be dealt with appropriately and in a timely way.

We saw audits had been completed to ensure policies and procedures were being followed. Any areas of improvement raised at part of the audit process were placed on an action plan and service managers were responsible for taking action and feeding back the outcome to the registered manager.

Staff we spoke with felt the service was well led and the registered manager was approachable and listened to them. Staff confirmed they knew their role within the organisation and the role of others. They knew what was expected of them and took accountability at their level.

Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare. One person told us: 'I can do lots of things but the best thing here is the staff.' Another person told us about their level of autonomy: 'We plan our meals and decide the shopping list.' Responses from questionnaires about the service included: 'The reliability and care the staff provide is very good.' Another response read: 'The continuity of staff is excellent which gives (person) a settled environment."

People were cared for in a clean, hygienic environment.

People were cared for, or supported by, suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff.

There was an effective complaints system available. Comments and complaints people made were responded to appropriately.

People who used the service said their support workers were like their friends and helped them maintain independence. One person said, 'I go out when I want with staff. I want help when I am out.' Another person said, 'I do my own shopping. I have staff helping me.'

People said that they had their own house support workers who knew them well and supported them in their daily activities.

Two people who used the service and one relative said that team leaders visited the houses to check whether they were happy and comfortable. People who used the service said the team leaders often supported them and sometimes they spent time with the support workers.

Four people we spoke with said the support workers were like their family and they were confident that they would protect them from harm and any abusive situations.