Background to this inspection
Updated
9 October 2019
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. This service also provides care and support to people living in nine supporting living settings, where people lived as independently as possible. People had varying levels of needs, which included, people with learning disabilities, mental health, people with physical disabilities and sensory impairments and young and older people. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 02 August 2019 and ended on 05 August 2019. We visited the office location on 05 August 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We requested and received feedback from other stakeholders. These included the local authority safeguarding team and commissioning team and health professionals. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
Due to the nature of the people being supported we were only able to speak with one person who used the service. We spoke to eight relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, service managers and support workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We looked at documents relating to the management of the service such as audits, meeting records and surveys.
Updated
9 October 2019
About the service
Lifeways Community Care (Stoke) are registered to provide personal care and support to people either living in the community in their own homes or to people who lived in shared accommodation under tenancy agreements, self-contained bungalows or apartments within the community. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting personal care to people across nine sites and was supporting 36 people aged 18 and over at the time of the inspection.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were empowered to lead their care and had the maximum choice and control over the way in which they were supported. People’s care was personalised which met their needs, and their preferences were consistently considered.
People were supported to live independently, for some this was the first time in their lives. They were supported to move into the service with care and compassion taking their anxieties into consideration and building support around them which made them feel safe and secure.
Staff understood people’s communication needs and supported them in the best way possible using a variety of tools to support this.
People were allowed to make meaningful friendships and staff were extremely proactive in ensuring people were able to follow their interests, hobbies and lifelong ambitions. This meant people lived meaningful and fulfilling lives. People had their diverse needs considered and respected.
People were able to freely complain and could be assured their complaints would be taken seriously and dealt with promptly and professionally.
There was a positive culture within the staff team which filtered through the services, meaning people were supported by a positive staff team.
The registered manager and the management team lead by example. People, staff and relatives felt their views were important in shaping the future for the service and they felt listened to. The service was proactive and continually worked on ways to improve, this involved being open to feedback from people and relatives.
People and relatives felt they were supported by a caring and considerate staff team who knew them well. People were able to make informed choices and were supported in positive risk taking.
People had their health and wellbeing including their nutritional needs met and were supported and encouraged to live healthier lives.
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 support this practice.
The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.
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 15 February 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.