First Care Lodge Limited (Supported Living)

About the service

First Care Lodge Ltd (supported Living) is a service that provides care and support to people living in a supported living setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support. 4 people were using personal care at the time of our visit and some of the people a learning disability and/or autism.

Right Support

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Care plans were designed with the involvement of relatives ensuring that people's support needs were identified. Changes in people's needs were regularly reviewed and care plans updated so people received the right support that met their needs. Risk assessments were completed, and staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life. Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome.

Right Care

The provider failed to undertake proper checks when employing new staff to ensure they were safe to provide personal care. However, relatives told us staff knew people well and were caring. Staff understood people's cultural needs and provided culturally appropriate care. They understood and responded to people's individual needs. Staff knew how to effectively communicate with people to deliver safe care.

Right Culture

The provider's auditing systems were not effective as they did not identify and address shortfalls in staff recruitment and deployment. This meant people were supported by staff who were not always recruited or deployed properly. We have made recommendations about staff deployment and quality assurance. Relatives felt staff were friendly and easy to talk with. Staff told us the provider supported and provided them with training. The provider worked with other professionals, so people were able to receive specialist care when they needed it. The provider sought feedback, carried out spot checks and reviewed incidents and accidents ensure continuous improvement.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for the service was Good (published on 21 December 2022)

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about . A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has changed from Good to Requires Improvement based on the findings of this inspection. Please see the Safe and Well-led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for First Care Lodge Limited (Supported Living) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement

We have identified breach in relation to staff recruitment. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

About the service

First Care Lodge Ltd (supported Living) is a domiciliary care service that provides care and support to people living in a supported living setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support. Four people were receiving personal care at the time of our visit.

People’s experience of using this service

Right Support

Staff supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence and they had control over their own lives. People could choose what to eat and when to eat. Risk assessments were completed and staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests. A range of activities were available to people, which they were able to participate in. Changes in people's needs were regularly reviewed and care plans updated so people received the right support that met their needs. People's communication needs were assessed, and staff knew how to communicate with them effectively. Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome.

Right Care

Relatives told us staff knew people well. Staff promoted equality and diversity in their support for people. They understood people’s cultural needs and provided culturally appropriate care. Relatives commented staff were kind, caring and they protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs. People who had individual ways of communicating, using body language, sounds, Makaton (a form of sign language), objects, pictures and symbols could interact comfortably with staff and others involved in their care and support because staff had the necessary skills to understand them.

Right Culture

People received person-centred care because care was tailored to their needs. Relatives felt that staff were friendly and easy to talk with. People received good quality care and support because staff were trained and supported. The provider worked with other professionals, so people were able to receive specialist care when they needed it. Staff understood equality and diversity and knew people should always treated with respect and not discriminated against because of any differences. The provider sought feedback and audited various aspects of the service to drive lessons and to ensure continuous improvement.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 1 November 2021 and this was the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on when the service registered with us.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.