L S Care Limited

Updated 16 November 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 an inspector and an Expert-by Experience who carried out telephone interviews. An Expert-by-Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service for older people and younger adults.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

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 24 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 17 September 2019 and ended on 15 October 2019. We visited the office location on 17 September 2019.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager, a senior clinical manager, clinical manager and a senior healthcare assistant. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment and staff training. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

After the site visit we telephoned and spoke with four people and six relatives of people who used the service. We telephoned and spoke with five support workers. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 16 November 2019

About the service

LS Care Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. It provides a service to children, younger and older adults including people with some complex physical health care requirements. At the time of inspection 20 people were 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

Staff were highly-trained, knowledgeable and passionate about the service giving people the very best experience they could. People told us they were highly appreciative of the support provided to them.

Robust systems were in place to ensure care was extremely person-centred and to make sure people were at the heart of the service. This vision was driven by the exceptional leadership of the registered manager.

Care was completely centred and tailored to each individual. Risk assessments were in place and they identified current risks to the person as well as ways for staff to minimise or appropriately manage those risks, including for positive risk taking.

The service was very flexible and adapted to people's changing needs and desires, enabling positive outcomes for all people. Records were very well-personalised, up-to-date and accurately reflected people's care and support needs. Effective systems were in place to identify what each person wanted to achieve, and how best to support them to do this.

People were extremely well-cared for. Staff knew the people they were supporting very well and care was provided with exceptional patience and kindness. The service went to great lengths to ensure people's privacy and dignity were always respected.

People were encouraged and supported to lead as fulfilled a life as possible. People were supported to foster their dreams and aspirations. There were several examples where staff had really gone the extra mile and supported people in different aspects of their lives.

Everyone we spoke with complimented and highly praised the staff team and gave examples of the outstanding care that was delivered. One relative told us, "Really, there isn’t anything that could be improved. I’m happy for [Name] that they are so happy with the service."

Staff were skilled and very knowledgeable about each person they cared for and they were extremely committed to making a positive difference to each person. They were enthusiastic and believed passionately in the ethos of the service.

The registered manager had ensured resources and skilled staff were available to support people and a number of staff were appointed as champions in certain subjects.

Communication was very effective and staff and people were listened to. Staff were well-supported and were aware of their responsibility to share any concerns about the care provided.

People were involved in decisions about their care. They 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.

People, relatives and staff were very confident about approaching the registered manager if they needed to. They recognised that their views and feedback were valued and respected and consistently used to support quality service development.

Strong processes were in place to manage and respond to complaints and concerns. The registered manager and management team undertook a range of audits to check on the quality of care provided.

Staff were encouraged to continue their professional development in order to progress and provide the best outcomes for people. Staff demonstrated that they really understood the importance and benefits of providing person-centred care.

Staffing capacity was sufficient and staff deployment was effective to ensure people's needs were met in a safe, timely and consistent way. Systems were in place for people to receive their medicines in a safe way. There was clear evidence of collaborative working and excellent communication with other professionals to help meet people's needs.

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 24 March 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.