Archived: Lifeways Community Care Limited (Bolton)

Lifeways is a national supported living scheme. Lifeways Community Care Limited (Bolton) provides support for people living in the community in 26 group home settings and caters for people with a diverse range of needs, such as learning disabilities, autism and acquired brain injuries. The office is located in Bolton.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People said they felt safe at the service. Systems were in place to address any safeguarding concerns and staff were aware of the procedures. Risks were thoroughly assessed and managed. Health and safety checks and certificates were in place and up to date.

Systems for managing medicines were safe and staff had completed appropriate training. Infection control and prevention systems were appropriate and all guidance was followed.

People were well treated and interactions with staff were friendly and relaxed. Staff supported people to reach their personal goals. There was evidence of people’s involvement and inclusion in all aspects of their care and support. People were well presented and staff supported them sensitively with personal care tasks.

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.

The provider responded openly and honestly to complaints and concerns. Notifications were submitted as required to CQC.

Staff were recruited safely and staffing levels were sufficient to meet people’s needs. Staff induction was thorough and training was on-going and of a good standard. Management were supportive towards staff.

The service completed a number of audits and checks to inform improvements. The service worked well with other agencies and professionals.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

This service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. The model of care, with small group settings, ensured people were able to have choice and control. Care was person-centred and people’s dignity and privacy promoted. Management and staff demonstrated values and behaviours that confirmed the right culture.

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 good (published 2 November 2018).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to general care and treatment. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, caring and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has remained good. This based on the findings at this inspection.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern.

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.

Lifeways is a national supported living scheme. Lifeways (Bolton) provides support for people living in the community in group home settings and caters for people with a diverse range of needs, such as learning disabilities, autism and acquired brain injuries. The office is located in Bolton and a small car park is available.

People lived in their own flats within houses with some communal areas and shared facilities. There was an office within the houses and sleep-in room for staff. The service could accommodate 121 people. At the time of the inspection there were 111 people using the service and 12 vacancies.

The registered manager had left the service, but the area manager, who had worked at the service for a significant length of time, was in the process of registering. 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.

People told us they felt safe within the service. Safeguarding training was undertaken by all staff and they were aware of how to recognise and report any concerns. There was a whistle-blowing hotline for employees to report any poor practice they may witness. Staff recruitment was robust and there were sufficient staff deployed to ensure people’s needs were met.

Health and safety measures were in place for all properties and checks were carried out at each property on a weekly basis. General and environmental risk assessments were in place and were updated as required.

Medicines systems were safe and staff received appropriate training in medicines administration. There was an infection control policy, risk assessments were in place and staff undertook regular training in this area.

Initial assessments and risk screens were completed when people were referred into the service. Care files included a range of health and personal information and details of support needs.

Documents could be produced in easy read, or other formats to help people be fully involved in all aspects of their support.

The staff induction programme was comprehensive and on-going training opportunities for staff were plentiful. Supervisions were undertaken on a regular basis and there were annual appraisals.

The service was working within the legal requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). Capacity and consent was assessed for each individual and best interests decisions made where necessary with input from relevant professionals, family and advocates.

People we spoke with were positive about their support. We observed staff interactions with people and saw that they were respectful, kind and friendly. All staff had training in dignity and people’s privacy and dignity was respected.

The service was committed to inclusion and encouraged people to be involved with their support planning as much as they were able. Confidentiality was respected and records were kept securely by the service.

Staff supported people to increase and maintain independence, ensuring people were encouraged to do as much as they could for themselves. Where people had capacity, the service ensured they had all the information available to enable them to make informed decisions and choices.

Care files were person-centred and included information contributed by the person who used the service and/or family members. People we spoke with were supported to attend college or with work placements and had a number of leisure activities and hobbies that they pursued with support from staff.

There were regular tenants’ meetings in each of the properties and quarterly service user forums (SURFLIFE), which gave a platform for people to have their say. The service sent out annual satisfaction surveys to provide another avenue for people to make suggestions and raise concerns.

There was an appropriate complaints procedure in place, which was outlined within the service user guide in easy read format. Complaints were logged and addressed and a number of compliments had been received by the service.

There was a strong management structure within the service. There was an appropriate statement of purpose which included the aims and objectives of the service. There were regular staff team meetings and a monthly newsletter to ensure all employees had a voice and felt listened to.

There were monthly and weekly checks at each site to help quality assure the service. Issues identified were followed up with actions and lessons learned to inform service improvement.