Lifeways Community Care Limited (Nottingham)

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

This service scored 82 (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 made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

We saw that people were supported to access the care and treatment they needed at the time they needed it. People had been referred to appropriate professionals as required, been able to attend the GP surgery, and have support from mental health professionals and emergency care when they had needed it.

People’s support plans were person centred and detailed and provided staff with guidance on how best to meet people’s needs in their preferred way. People were actively involved in the development of their support plan, and the registered manager showed us a document which evidenced this including photos of the person typing their own care plan.

The registered manager was passionate about providing person centred care and support and described things they did to support this way of working across the team. “When I do team meetings, I do scenarios putting yourself in people’s shoes, for example if you’re being fed and the staff aren’t really concentrating the effect this has on people. Positive things have come from that. It’s took the care to that next level and they [staff] understand the way the people we support would feel in that situation.”

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

The registered manager and staff demonstrated a good understanding of people’s diverse health and care needs. Staff had received person specific training to develop their knowledge of individuals care needs to ensure they effectively met people’s needs.

People were supported to make informed choices about their care including the appointments they accessed.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

One staff member showed us photographs of food they had supported a person to make to support with them having a more varied and healthier diet. Staff knew for this person using visual prompts supported the person with making decisions. They said, “I will suggest some meals [show pictures] and say would you like this or that and [name] picks from there so they are obviously able to make the choice for themself but from healthier options.”

We saw numerous examples of social stories and communication aids for people who do not communicate verbally as well as accessible documentation for a capacity assessment. Accessible documentation also included information to support people to communicate about their emotions and wellbeing. The complaints procedure was also available in an easy read format.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

We saw the providers complaints procedure was available in an easy read format for people. We spoke with people who knew how to make a complaint and who to speak with. One person said, “I would speak to [manager name] they work for Lifeways or staff or [keyworker name].”

Feedback from people was captured using a “You Said, We Did” template which recorded people’s views and the action the team had taken. We saw evidence that suggestions about activities were listened to and acted upon, parties and activities were hosted by the provider and local management teams for other people supported in the area to attend and relationships were positively fostered across the services.

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

We saw evidence and spoke with people who confirmed they had been supported to access care and treatment, including emergency care, when they needed it.

This meant people were effectively supported to access the care and treatment required in a timely way to support them to maintain their health and wellbeing.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

People’s holistic needs were considered to ensure not only physical health needs were considered but people’s sexual health, mental welfare and support. The detail in people’s care plans and staff knowledge of people and how they may present and other indicators of how they were feeling, were documented and known. One staff member said, “Wellbeing is so important and when you get to know the people we support you can really tell when people are having a down day, [name] I can tell the moment they walk into the office if they are having a down day, [name] wouldn’t tell you and you’ve got to read them.”

We spoke with one manager about a person’s health concerns over a period of time and how they had explored this thoroughly to ensure the persons care needs were met and they did not experience inequality in their experience. They told us, “In 2023 I noticed they had a lot of dysregulated emotions, we spoke to the GP and they went through things. In the end they suggested to try them on HRT and the behaviours went from quite high to quite manageable.”

We spoke with one person about being supported to find accessible premises and they gave us an example of staff locating a shop that they could access easily as they were a wheelchair user.

This approach meant people had an equitable experience of outcomes, care, support and treatment the same as other people could expect.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

We spoke with one person who wished to move to another area. They explained how staff were supporting them with this important life change and giving them information in a way they understood to help them to make an informed decision. They also explained how staff were supporting them to develop their independent living skills to prepare for this and said, “Yesterday [staff name] helped me clean the floor. I want to move to [place and it will be a long process.”