Living Well North Ltd

Updated 9 May 2025

Date of Assessment: 29 July to 28 August 2025. The service is a care at home service registered to provide support to older people and younger adults, including people who may live with dementia, mental health, sensory impairment, eating disorder or physical disability needs. At the time of inspection there were 21 people using the service and of those people 8 were receiving the regulated activity personal care. This was the first rated inspection of the service. A registered manager was in place, who is registered with the Care Quality Commission and is legally responsible to ensure that the service is compliant with legal and regulatory requirements. There were enough staff with the necessary skills, qualifications and experience. However, improvements were needed to roster management to ensure people received consistent care from staff they knew. This would support better communication to ensure that staff and people were kept informed, including when staff were going to be late for a call.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy and dignity. Staff received training to maintain quality care. People’s care records and medicines records did not all provide guidance to ensure people received safe and person-centred care. People were supported to ensure their health care needs were met. Most systems were effective and in place to protect people and ensure their safety. They were supported to take risks to improve their quality of life. However, some improvements were needed to staff recruitment, risk management and medicine management to ensure people’s safety. Systems were in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service; however some improvements were identified.

Updated 9 May 2025

We received positive comments from people and relatives about the caring nature of staff. Relatives and people told us staff were kind and caring, they were patient and treated people as individuals. Their comments included, “The carers are ok, but a few holes here and there”, “The carers are very compassionate and understanding” and “The main carer I have has a brilliant personality.” People and relatives told us people did not all receive consistent care from staff they knew. People did not know which staff member would be visiting. Comments included, “I have requested that I only want that 1 carer that I feel safe with or nobody at all”, “My relative does get changes of faces from time to time”, “[Name] feels generally safe, but carers change regularly, and it has made my relative unhappy.” People and relatives were positive about the open culture of the service, they all said they were listened to, had opportunities to give feedback and any concerns were addressed. Comments included, “The management are very good at getting involved and being easy to contact on the phone” and “There is no negativity about this care, I have never complained about anything.” However, improvements were needed to communication and to keep people informed if staff were running late, as we received mixed feedback from relatives and staff. Comments included, “Punctuality can be a problem because staff travel on public transport. Last week the carer came 2 hours late, so I can be stuck waiting for my breakfast when they are late”, “I feel public transport has put more pressure on the carers punctuality”, Sometimes the punctuality can be sporadic”, “I have texted the carer when they are late and they don’t text me back, so I have to keep ringing the management team to ask if they are coming”, “The management are not always available, I have left messages and nobody rings me back and you have to keep trying and I find it I stressful.” Other people commented, “Timekeeping is generally good, the carers keep us informed if they are occasionally late” and “I generally have an excellent relationship with the management and office staff. I think they are hands on and there to help when you need them.”