Lifeways Community Care Ltd (Leicester)

Updated 5 December 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 was carried out by one inspector, an assistant inspector and two Experts by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has had personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Lifeways Community Care Ltd (Leicester) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the agency was providing personal care to 200 people. Of these, 68 people who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. However, a manager had been appointed and had made an application for registration with the Care Quality Commission which was being processed at the time of this inspection. The provider is 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 it is a complex service and we needed to be sure that the manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 14 October 2019 when we made telephone calls to people and their relatives. We visited the office location on 15 October to review records and speak with staff. The inspection ended on 16 October 2019 when we visited people in their own homes.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authorities who commission and monitor the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We met and spent time with five people in their own homes and spoke with 19 relatives by telephone. We also spoke with the manager, the regional quality manager, the senior service manager, three service managers and 12 support staff. We reviewed care plans and records for eight people and looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. We looked at an overview of training and supervision for all staff. We also reviewed a range of records relating to the day to day management of the service, including medicines, policies and quality assurance.

Updated 5 December 2019

About the service

Lifeways Community Care Ltd (Leicester) provides personal care and support to younger and older people living with physical and learning disabilities, mental health needs, autisim and dementia. People were living in their own homes or within supported living accommodation. The service was supporting 200 people. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

People's experience of using this service and what we found

People were protected from the risk of abuse and from potential discrimination. Risks people faced had been assessed and those identified were safely managed. Medicines were managed safely. Staff showed a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities of keeping people safe from harm. Staff had been safely recruited and staffing levels were maintained. People were supported to take their medicines and protected from the risk of infections.

Staff received a range of training appropriate to their role and people's needs, and were supported to develop through regular supervision. People were encouraged and supported to maintain good nutrition and hydration and access the healthcare they needed to stay well.

Staff were respectful and communicated effectively to support people to make choices and decisions about their care and support. 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 this practice.

Staff knew people well and were described as caring and respectful by people and relatives. People were at the centre of the service and involved in all aspects of the care and support provided. The service was effective at promoting people's independence. People had made significant achievements with the support of staff.

The service provided people with personalised care that met their needs and took account of their wishes. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills, and become more independent, to achieve the best possible outcomes. People and relatives were supported to make complaints and raise concerns. These were used to drive improvements within the service.

Effective systems were in place to consistently monitor and review the standard of care and support provided. The leadership of the service promoted a positive culture that was person-centred and inclusive. The manager and the staff team showed a desire to improve on the service provided and in turn the quality of life experiences for the people using the service.

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 22 April 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.