Lifeways Community Care (Poole)

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

At our last inspection we rated this key question good. At this inspection the rating has remained good.

This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their 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 service always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Relatives spoke positively about staff. One relative told us they were, “caring and supportive” and another relative told us, “I have seen how they care for [person] and the enthusiasm; they care about [person] which is good.” Staff told us they had enough information about people to ensure they provided consistent care to meet people’s individual needs. One staff member told us, “Regular staff teams support the same people, which helps build trust and understanding.”

The service treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Care plans detailed people’s goals and aspirations, as well as the support they needed to achieve these. Staff told us, “Care plans are clear, detailed, and person-centred. They include people’s preferences, communication needs, risks, routines, and how they want to be supported.” Relatives told us staff knew what people liked.

The service promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. Relatives told us people were supported to be independent and make choices. Staff said they encouraged people’s independence. One staff member told us, “The service strongly promotes independence. People are encouraged to make choices, develop life skills, and do as much as possible for themselves, such as cooking, personal care, shopping, and accessing the community, with support tailored to their abilities.” Another staff member told us examples, “It could be hand on hand support someone with their personal care. It could be for someone to pick which outfit they would like to wear, what colour they would like their nails and what nail shop they would like to visit. Choice is very important.”

The service listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff respond to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Relatives told us people were supported with healthcare appointments. Staff knew who to report concerns to and said they worked regularly with health care professionals. The provider had a system in place to record all communication with health and social care professionals, ensuring that information was kept centrally and was accessible to staff.

The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff, and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff told us they felt supported by the management team, they felt recognised and appreciated. The service had a staff recognition scheme in place. One staff member told us, “Training and development opportunities are encouraged.” Another told us, “I have regular supervisions. They are useful as they give me the opportunity to discuss my role, training needs, concerns, and development. I feel listened to and supported.” Regular staff meetings contributed to a positive and inclusive workplace culture.