Lifeways Community Care Limited (Nottingham)

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 86 (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 had a very clear shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and an exceptional understanding of the challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

We saw documentation which recorded staff actions which demonstrated they lived the organisational values, and this was reflected through their practice. The registered manager demonstrated throughout the assessment they lived these values and that this was cascaded down through the local organisation.

The shared direction ensured each individual person was at the centre of their support when decisions about their lives were being made. We saw the registered manager worked closely with the registered manager from the neighbouring area and held joint management meetings to discuss and embed positive values across the wider area. Closed cultures was an active discussion so if they started to develop, they could be quickly identified.

The provider had exceptionally inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They always did so with openness and honesty.

We spoke with members of staff and the management team who talked with passion about their role, wanting to make a difference in people’s lives and demonstrating the culture and values of the service and we observed this in practice. Staff we spoke with supported that the registered manager had the skills, knowledge and capability to lead the team. One manager talked about the collaborative ways of working demonstrated by the registered manager and how they worked with others in the organisation. “[Registered manager] has always worked in collaboration with managers and is always very supportive.” They also talked about the registered managers experience which gave her credibility as a registered manager and how they fostered staff development, “[Registered manager] used to be the leader at [service name] and I was team leader, [Registered manager] is still my manager and has always been there. When I first went to team leader, I was a little bit scared and every time I was a bit unsure [registered manager] was always there.”

The registered manager spoke about the support she received from peers and the network of support from other areas of the organisation.

The provider was exceptional at fostering a positive culture where people knew they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

There were a number of forums, processes and policy that supported staff, people and their representatives to share feedback and a strong focus on supporting people to thrive, develop skills, have new experiences and live the life they choose.

Everyone we spoke with said they felt able to speak up and their voice would be heard and we saw this in practice through people’s engagement with the registered manager and staff.

People and those involved in their care were clear about the separation between care and their tenancy. Leaders supported people to exercise their rights as tenants and empowered people to assert their rights.

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them.

We spoke with staff and managers about equality, diversity and inclusion. One manager said, “

We’ve got some staff with disabilities, and we have found the people we support can open up to them a little bit more as they can relate. We are aware disabilities can be invisible”. They went on to say, “The diversity council in Lifeways is really good and if you have a suggestion they give out QR codes and staff can use this so if staff felt unsure or uncomfortable there is still an opportunity to speak up.”

The provider had an appropriate policy in place and staff received training on equality, diversity and inclusion to raise awareness and promote an inclusive culture in the services.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and governance processes. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

Whilst the provider did have and use systems for oversight of the services, we did find issues around medicines management that internal auditing processes had not identified. Whilst this was addressed by the registered manager immediately it meant governance processes were not consistently used to good effect across all services.

The model of care used at the services were in line with current best practice guidance right support, right care, right culture. People had accommodation, staff support and lived with people who were compatible, so they did not have to change their lives to suit others and enabled them to live the life they chose.

The provider had defined roles and responsibilities, and staff were clear about this. The registered manager and leadership team understood their responsibilities in assuring good quality care and the governance processes used to support this which included having oversight of the digital platform used for recording people’s personal data and records.

These ways of working supported with the good governance of the service and people receiving good quality care and support.

The provider understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

We saw examples of engagement with other professionals to ensure people received holistic care that met all their health and wellbeing needs. Leaders worked with people, their representatives and staff to build a culture that focused on enabling people to enjoy their lives. Whilst we did receive some feedback from external partners which indicated communication wasn’t always as effective as it could be, the feedback was communicated to the registered manager who took this on board and took steps to address these points.

We saw the provider engaged others so people could thrive, develop skills, have new experiences and live the life they choose, for example, working as quality advisors and accessing education and community resources.

The provider had a strong focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They always encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. They actively contributed to safe and effective practice.

The registered manager had a drive to ensure that there was a culture of continuous learning, managers did not gate keep information but shared this freely to underpin this culture and promote improved ways of working. The registered manager told us, “I feel like [geographical area] has been on such a journey and feel like things are all coming together.”

Electronic systems were used effectively including the platform used for recording daily records and care plans. The registered manager told us about the work they had done to make improvements in this area, “I am passionate about upskilling, person centred care and meeting people’s needs. I felt like that wasn’t there before but now you will see that it is.”

The wider organisation had carried out pieces of work to deliver on people’s quality of life and positive outcomes. For example, we reviewed the organisation “Restraint Reduction” audit report which, using digital systems implemented by the provider, had monitored the use of restraint in services and seen a reduction in this through engagement with PBS practitioners and consistent training while identifying diagnosis specific staff training which would positively benefit people.

These innovative practices aligned people’s care and support to current best practice guidance right support, right care, right culture and built a culture that focused on enabling people to enjoy a full life.