We carried out a review of the data available to us about Lonsdale Midlands DCA on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Lonsdale Midlands DCA, you can give feedback on this service.
Lonsdale Midlands is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care and support to 6 people living in their own homes or in supported living settings.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.
The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.
People were protected from harm and abuse as staff had the skills and knowledge to identify and report any safeguarding concerns. Risks assessments were completed to enable staff to support people in a safe way. People received their medicines as prescribed.
Assessment and care plan records were regularly updated and reviewed and gave staff guidance to support people in line with their preferences and choices. 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. People received support to maintain a balanced diet.
People were treated with kindness and dignity. Staff promoted choice and respect enabling people to be as independent as possible.
Staff worked well with each other and with other agencies to support people to receive consistent care. People and their relatives knew how to make a complaint and felt confident that concerns raised would be acted upon.
The registered manager understood their registration requirements and maintained good oversight of the service. There were effective systems in place to monitor the delivery of a good standard of care. The registered manager worked in partnership with other organisations and people, their relatives and staff were engaged with the service to drive improvements and to provide good outcomes for people.
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 this service was requires improvement (published 24 October 2018).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.
At the time of our inspection 11 people received support and personal care from the provider. People who used the service had needs associated with a learning disability or an associated condition.
Services delivered were personal care to people who lived in their own flats within the community or supported living premises. Supported living enables people who need personal or social support to live in their own home supported by care staff instead of living in a care home or with family.
At our last inspection of January 2014 the provider was meeting the regulations that we assessed.
The manager was registered with us as is required by law. 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 provider had not taken action to make sure that medicines were stored at the correct temperature to prevent any possibility of them being spoilt or not working as they were supposed to. Medicines were not always date labelled when first opened so there was a possibility they would be continued to be used after the expiry date had past.
Relatives told us that they were not aware of any incidents of abuse. There were systems in place to protect people from the risk of abuse and staff followed these. Staff knew how to report any concerns that they may have and the registered manager reported incidents to the local authority safeguarding team as they were required to.
Recruitment processes were robust and reduced the risk of unsuitable staff being appointed.
Staffing levels ensured that people received the care and support they needed. People were supported by staff who were kind, caring, respectful and knew them well.
People and their relatives had been involved in the planning of care to ensure that people received the care and support in line with their needs and preferences.
Staff told us that they enjoyed their work and felt adequately supported on a day to day basis in their job roles. People were cared for by staff who were trained so that they could carry out their role effectively.
People who used the service described the staff as being nice and kind. Staff showed an interest in people and showed them respect.
Staff were aware of how to support people’s rights and seek their consent before providing care and ensured people were supported to make day to day choices.
Staff had an understanding and knowledge regarding the Mental Capacity Act and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding (DoLS). This ensured that people who used the service were not unlawfully restricted.
We found that a complaints procedure was available for people to use and relatives told us that they would access them if they had a need to.
Management systems and the quality monitoring of the service gave some assurance of a well-led service. Relatives had confidence in the managers and told us that improvements had been made of late.
All the people we spoke with were complimentary about the support offered by the service. One person told us, 'I am happy with everything. They are nice staff.' Another person told us, 'I am happy with them, I am going out today.' A relative told us, 'Absolutely excellent service, cannot fault them at all.'
People told us their privacy and dignity was promoted and maintained. They told us that they were able to make choices about their daily lives.
People's care and health needs were planned and met in a personalised way. There were systems in place to identify and manage risks to keep people safe. All staff spoken with told us they had the information they needed to care for people safely.
Staff spoken with told us they felt supported by the management team and had regular training opportunities. This meant staff had the skills to care for people safely.
There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided and for improvements to be made.
People told us that choices were offered and their views had been taken into consideration. They also told us that their privacy and dignity was promoted and maintained.
People's needs had been assessed by a range of health professionals including specialist doctors and the optician. This meant that staff had enabled people to have their health care needs monitored and met.
Staff were able to give a good account of what they would do if they were concerned about anything or witnessed abuse.
Recruitment processes ensured that staff members were suitable to work with the people using this service which protected them from harm.
We found that systems had been used to monitor how the service had been run and people had been encouraged to raise concerns.