14 October 2019
During a routine inspection
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.