- Homecare service
Lifeways Paragon Limited
Assessment report published 2 September 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 9 June to 3 July 2026. During the assessment, we carried out visits to the providers office address and 8 homes where people supported by the service lived.
Lifeways Paragon Limited is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our assessment 66 people, which included people with a learning disability and autistic people, received support with personal care.
We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed autistic people and people with a learning disability respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. We found the provider was generally meeting the principles outlined in this guidance.
The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, person centred care, need for consent, staffing and good governance. Some improvements were found at this assessment, and the provider was no longer in breach of the regulations relating to person centred care, need for consent and staffing. However, continued breaches of regulation were identified in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance.
This provider has been in Special Measures since 24 April 2026. The provider demonstrated the improvements have been made. The provider is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this provider is no longer in Special Measures.
The provider had worked hard to make improvements following our last assessment. However, we found further improvement was needed in areas such as medicines, risk management, aspects of care planning and the quality of the records. Governance systems needed to be strengthened to ensure audits were effective at identifying and addressing concerns to improve the overall quality and safety of the service.
However, we found people were supported by a consistent staff team who knew their needs well. Staff treated people with kindness and compassion, and they worked well with external professionals to support people to stay well.
We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.
People's experience of this service
People and the majority of their relatives spoke positively about the care and support provided by Lifeways Paragon Limited. When people were unable to share their experience of care verbally, we gathered evidence through observations of care, staff interactions and speaking to their relatives.
We observed lots of positive interactions between staff, managers and the people they supported. People appeared to be relaxed and comfortable in their homes and observations found they had formed close bonds with staff.
People and their relatives told us they felt safe when staff supported them. Comments included, “Yes, [Person] feels happy and safe with the care [Person] gets” and "I have no safety concerns whatsoever." People told us they were supported by a consistent staff team who knew them well and had the right skills to care for them safely. Comments included “Staff seem to be well trained and they seem to know what they are doing,” “I see the same staff, got to know them well and feel safe with staff around me, I know them all” and “I do think staff get the right training and they are incredibly dedicated to providing good care.”
We received mixed feedback from people and their relatives about access to activities. Comments included, “Today I am going shopping and dancing at church,” “I go disco on Monday’s” and “I go to the cinema, shopping, I’m getting summer clothes soon.”
However, some relatives felt more encouragement was needed in relation to activities participation. Relatives said, “I think staff could take [Person] out a bit more,” “[Person] needs a routine of more activities” and “[Person] would like for more activities to be organised.”
Most people told us they were supported effectively with food and drink. However, we received mixed feedback from relatives in relation to promoting healthy eating choices. Some relatives told us staff excelled at encouraging people to try healthier foods whereas other relatives felt staff did not always take enough action to provide healthy choices. Comments included, “Staff definitely encourage [Person] to eat healthily; they have a weekly planner and cook a nice variety of healthy meals catering for [Person’s] preferences” and “No encouragement from staff for healthy choices, [Person’s] diet is poor.”
Overall, people and relatives felt the care provided helped to meet their loved one's needs. Relatives told us, “I genuinely think [Person’s] package is effective and [Person] is living a happy life that meets [Person’s] needs" and “I think they are good at helping [Person] and understand her needs, they listen to [Person].” People told us they were supported to stay well, and staff were responsive to changes in their health and contacted external health professionals when needed.
People told us they received sensitive support to maintain their privacy, dignity and independence. People and the majority of their relatives gave many examples of the kind and caring nature of staff. Relatives told us, “Yes, I think staff are kind, they listen to [Person]. Staff try hard and I think they put [Person’s] needs first. They are patient and caring, [Person] is treated with respect” and “I think staff are very caring and committed to supporting [Person].”
While people and relatives expressed general satisfaction with the quality of care, our assessment found elements of care did not meet the expected standards.