Lifeways Community Care (South London)

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture. At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant the service was now consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

Staff were supported by their line managers to deliver personal care to people they supported in line with the provider’s values and culture. Systems and processes had been designed in line with this vision and focused on people and meeting their individual needs. Managers routinely used individual and group meetings to remind staff about the provider’s underlying core values and principles. A staff member told us, “We all work as a team. Our goal is to support people to live an independent lifestyle. We help people to improve on their existing skills and encourage people to do as much as they can for themselves.” A relative told us, “The staff know what my loved one needs and they support my loved one to be as independent as possible.”

Managers had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

The servicedid not have a registered manager in post. The area manager was overseeing the day-to-day running of the service. The area manager told us they had recruited a manager to run the service; and they were due to start work soon. Staff were supported by managers and team leaders in individual supported living services. The managers we spoke with demonstrated they had the appropriate expertise and experience to manage staff as well as ensuring care delivery met professional standards. They promoted inclusivity and openness, ensuring staff felt comfortable raising concerns or seeking advice. A staff member told us, “I get good support from the manager and the team leader. I enjoy working here.” Another staff member said, “I feel well supported. The manager provides direction, clarification and they are always available.”

Staff told us management support was available for them when they needed it. There was a 24 hour on-call number where staff could contact managers if they needed advice or support.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

There were systems in place to enable staff and others to speak up when they felt something was wrong or could be improved. Managers promoted a positive and open culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. People expressed feeling able to raise any concerns they might have and were confident their views would be taken seriously and acted upon. Staff told us they had a good relationship with the management team, and they felt their opinions about the service were appreciated. A staff member told us, “I attend team meetings every month, all the staff are encouraged to speak, we discuss peoples’ care needs, and the manager provides the team with updates and any news about the organisation."

The provider had supporting documents including, an accessible complaints and staff whistleblowing procedures, which set out clear expectations for how concerns should be reported and dealt with by them. Managers were open, honest and transparent. When something went wrong, the provider apologised to people and explained the actions they were taking to prevent this happening again.

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They had an inclusive and fair culture which had improved equality and equity for people who work for them.

The provider valued diversity in their workforce and they recruited staff from a range of diverse backgrounds to reflect the needs of people they supported. Managers treated staff fairly and with respect, regardless of background, and supported individual needs through reasonable adjustments and inclusive practices. Staff reported feeling valued and supported. Staff had opportunities for career progression, were offered flexible work options and had their diverse cultural and religious needs respected. A staff member told us, “I have completed my NVQ2 health and adult care, the manager helped me through. They have also encouraged me to carry out tasks such as finance and medicines audits and review people’s support plans.”

Staff were also supported through relevant training and supervision to inform their knowledge and understanding of equality, inclusivity and fairness in the workplace. Managers actively promoted a respectful working environment and challenged discriminatory behaviour. This inclusive approach helped maintain a stable, motivated workforce and contributed to positive experiences for people using the service. Staff told us their individual needs and diversity needs were respected. A staff member told us there was a dedicated room at the supported living service for staff to pray in private. They said, “We have staff and people using the service from different cultures and backgrounds. I feel I am respected and I respect the people I support and my colleagues.”

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care and support. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

Improvements had been made to the way the provider operated their governance systems. The provider had introduced a centralised electronic monitoring system to record and review key data and were able to identify any themes and trends developing. The provider’s quality and governance team ensured appropriate action was taken to learn from any events or incidents that occurred.

Managers also maintained oversight through regular audits, checks and reviews, and took timely action when issues were identified. For example, quality assurance managers routinely visited each person’s supported living accommodation and undertook a range of quality monitoring tasks including, gathering people’s views about their experiences of using the service or working for them. Governance systems covered key areas they routinely monitored including, care planning, accident and incidents, safeguarding issues, complaints, health and safety, medicines management, infection prevention and control, and record keeping. Managers and staff held regular meetings to discuss and analyse their findings, identify themes, learn lessons and agree action plans when areas for improvement were identified.

Managers understood and demonstrated compliance with regulatory requirements. They also understood their responsibility to provide honest information, suitable support and to apply duty of candour where appropriate.

The provider understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

The provider worked in close partnership with other community-based health and social care professionals and commissioners to support people’s health and wellbeing. This ensured people received holistic and joined up support which met their needs.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people.

Systems were in place to review performance, identify learning opportunities and adapt practice. The provider demonstrated a willingness to innovate and develop the service when they introduced an electronic system to improve how they managed care plans and medicines and monitored the service they provided. They conducted a range of audits and obtained feedback from stakeholders. They responded to the outcome of these and made improvements to the service when needed. When lessons needed to be learnt, the provider developed time specific action plans which set out clearly what actions they needed to take to improve. Managers and staff regularly met to discuss how well the service was meeting different standards of care. Staff undertook regular training and were given information about good practice and legislation.

The provider was also innovative and approaches included positive risk‑taking, the use of pictorial information to support understanding, and creative community activities tailored to peoples expressed social interests.