Lean On Me Care Services Limited

Updated 12 July 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

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

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 25 May 2023 and ended on 31 May 2023. We visited the location’s office/service on 25 May 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 10 January 2023 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 1 person and 2 people’s relatives who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 6 members of staff, including the registered manager (who was also the nominated individual), a compliance manager and 4 care workers.

The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people's care records and medication records. We looked at electronic staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed. We received feedback from 2 health care professionals about their views of the service.

Updated 12 July 2023

About the service

Lean On Me Care Services Limited is a domiciliary care service providing the regulated activity of personal care. At the time of our inspection there were 13 people using the service, 5 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care.

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’s care needs and support requirements had been assessed, recorded and managed well. However, records relating to the management of people’s medicines were not always clear. The provider had identified that parts of their governance and quality monitoring systems needed to improve to identify gaps in people’s care records and the management of the service.

Although we found shortfalls in parts of the providers quality monitoring systems, the registered manager had good oversight of the service. People and their relatives felt confident in the management of the service and that any concerns would be acted on.

Safe recruitment practices and staff development systems were in place to ensure people were supported by suitably vetted and trained staff. There were enough staff to meet people's needs and who knew them well.

People received care from staff who were kind and caring. Staff treated people with dignity and encouraged people to reach their potential. The registered manager and staff had formed working relationships with health care professionals and families.

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.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 15 March 2022, this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This service had not been inspected since their registration; therefore, this inspection was also carried out to gain assurances about the quality of care and systems used to monitor and manage the service.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to the management of people's medicines.

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 around the management of people’s medicines. 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.