The Care Quality Commission
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Archived: Lifeways Community Care

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Pure Offices, Oldbury, Broadwell Road, Oldbury, West Midlands, B69 4BY (0121) 541 4000

Provided and run by:
Lifeways Community Care Limited

Important: This service is now registered at a different address - see new profile

All Inspections

18 May 2016

During a routine inspection

The inspection took place on 18 and 19 May 2016 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

Lifeways Community Care is registered to provide personal care services to people in their own homes or supported living. People the service supports have a range of needs including physical disability and learning disability. On the day of the inspection, 45 people were receiving support. There was no registered manager in post, but the recently appointed area manager had applied to be registered. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act (2008) and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they felt safe. We found from the care staff we spoke with that they knew how to keep people safe and where people were at risk what action they should take. The provider had an appropriate medicines procedure in place to ensure people received their medicines safely.

Care staff were able to receive support to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs. People were able to give their consent before they were supported. The provider ensured the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) were being adhered to so people’s human rights were not being restricted unlawfully.

People’s dignity, privacy and independence was respected. People’s needs were assessed appropriately and a care plan was in place which people were involved in. People were also involved in the decisions that related to the support they received and where reviews were carried out people told us they were involved.

People were able to receive support that was not only responsive to their needs but people were able to make decisions on the service they received. The provider ensured there was a complaints process in place to enable people to share any concerns they had.

We found that care records had improved since our last inspection and the provider was implementing a new care management process.

The provider carried out quality assurance checks and audits to ensure the quality of the service people received.

The provider used questionnaires to gather people’s views on the service they received.

14 and 15 April 2015

During a routine inspection

The inspection took place on the 14 and 15 April 2015 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice that we would be visiting the service. This was because the service provides domiciliary care and we wanted to be sure that staff would be available.

Lifeways Community Care is registered to provide personal care services to people in their own homes or supported living. People may have a physical disability, an eating disorder, learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. On the day of the inspection, 69 people were receiving support. There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act (2008) and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they felt safe within the service. Care staff knew how to keep people safe from harm.

People told us there were enough staff to support them safely.

People’s medicines administration records were not being used appropriately to show when people medicines were administered consistently.

The provider did not ensure care staff were supported sufficiently through training so they had the skills and knowledge to support people.

People were able to give their consent before any support was given.

The provider had the appropriate procedures in place to ensure the Mental Capacity Act (2005) legislation was being adhered to and people’s human rights were not being restricted where people lacked capacity.

People told us that care staff were supportive to them and caring and kind. People’s independence, dignity and privacy was being respected.

People were able to make decisions about the support they received and completed a questionnaire as a way of sharing their views on the service that they received.

People’s preferences, likes and dislikes were being met how they wanted. Care staff explained how they ensure people’s preferences were met.

While people, relatives and staff told us the service was well led, concerns were identified as relatives did not all know who the registered manager was.

We found that the quality audits being carried out were not effective in improving the service quality to people.

Records were not being completed consistently to ensure they reflected enough detail about people’s support needs.