Lotus Home Care Huddersfield

Lotus care is a domiciliary care service providing care and support to adults and older people in their own homes. The service supports people with physical disabilities and mental health needs. At the time of our inspection there were 82 people using the service.

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

During this inspection, we found inconsistency in how the provider was following and applying their recruitment policy. People and staff raised concerns regarding the training staff received. We made a recommendation in relation to training. Staff did not feel supported by the management and there was a lack of supervisions completed with staff.

Staff and people did not feel their concerns were listened to or acted upon. Staff told us they did not think they always had enough time to travel between care visits, however people and relatives did not raise concerns in this area. We reviewed evidence confirming accidents and incidents were reviewed and lessons learnt shared with staff.

Care plans lacked detail around how best to support people. We made a recommendation in relation to care plans and risk assessments. Staff also felt changes to people’s needs were not communicated to the staff team promptly. Medication times were not being logged so it was not clear if a there was a sufficient gap between doses.

The quality assurance processes failed to identify concerns relating to medication, care plans, recruitment, complaints and supervisions. We found no evidence the service had sought feedback from people, staff or relatives.

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 1 April 2021).

Why we inspected

We inspected this service due to concerns we had received regarding the recruitment of staff and the quality of care provided. We completed a focused inspection of the key questions safe and well-led. For those key questions not inspected, we used the rating awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Lotus care on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement

We have identified a breach in relation to good governance at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

Lotus Home Care Huddersfield is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to 52 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

The service did not have a registered manager. People were satisfied with the service they received. Staff spoke less positively regarding the internal communication from senior management. Staff we spoke with had a clear understanding of their roles. A number of audits were regularly undertaken. These were analysed and any patterns or trends addressed with actions. This demonstrated the service took learning from their quality checks. Spot checks and competence assessments were carried out on staff to help ensure their skills and knowledge remained current.

People felt safe with the service and spoke positively of the staff who provide their care and support. Individual and general risk assessments were in place. People received a weekly staff rota. Staff were recruited safely. Where people needed assistance with medicines this was done safely. Staff knowledge of safeguarding issues was good. Care and support needs were documented. People were protected from the risk of infection.

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 March 2019).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to peoples care needs, staff recruitment and training practices. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has remained the same. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from theses concern.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Lotus Home Care Huddersfield on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

People’s experience of using this service:

Relatives told us people felt safe using the service. The service had good systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuse.

Staff knew people very well and people's care was organised around them.

People's likes and dislikes, and 'what a good day means' to them were recorded.

Medicines were being administered safely and people’s dietary needs were met.

Relatives told us staff were kind and caring.

Staff confirmed there were sufficient numbers to keep people safe and to meet people's care needs.

Staff were receiving appropriate training which was relevant to their role.

Staff were supported by the registered manager and were receiving regular formal supervision where they could discuss their on-going development needs.

Care plans were up to date and gave precise details about exactly what care and support people wanted and needed.

Risk assessments were in place and showed what action had been taken to mitigate any risks which had been identified.

There was a complaints procedure available which enabled people to raise any concerns or complaints about the care or support they received.

The registered manager provided staff with leadership and was described as being very approachable.

Audits and checks were used to drive improvements to the service people received.

People’s feedback was used to make changes to the service.

Relatives and staff spoke highly of the registered manager, who was well-known.

Rating at last inspection: This is the first inspection of the service.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return as our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk