Archived: Life-Line Care 4 U Limited

Updated 24 March 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on 4 and 5 February 2016 and we gave the provider 48 hours’ notice as this is a small service and we needed to be sure that the manager would be available to participate in the inspection. The inspection was carried out by an adult social care inspector.

Prior to the inspection we reviewed information we had about Life-line Care 4 U Limited, including statutory notifications received from the service. We contacted agencies who were involved with the service for feedback, including community and hospital social workers and a local medicines support service.

During the inspection we spoke with seven people who received support from the service, eight relatives, four support workers and the registered manager. We visited one person at home who was supported by the service. In addition, we reviewed the care records of four people being supported by the service. We also looked at service records including staff recruitment, supervision and training records, policies and procedures, complaints and compliments records and records of audits completed.

Updated 24 March 2016

We carried out an inspection of Life-line Care 4 U Limited on 4 and 5 February 2016. This was the first inspection that had been carried out at this service.

Life-line Care 4 U Limited is a domiciliary care agency. The service provides support to people with a variety of needs including older people, people living with dementia, people with a learning disability, physical disability, sensory impairment, mental health issue, alcohol or drug problem or eating disorder. The agency’s office is located in Nelson in East Lancashire. At the time of the inspection the service was providing support to 34 people.

At the time of our inspection 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.

During our inspection people told us they felt safe when being supported by staff. One person told us, “I always feel safe with the carer. I’m never scared”. One relative told us, “My husband is always safe. He’s always cared for by two carers”.

We saw evidence that staff had been recruited safely. They had a good understanding of how to safeguard vulnerable adults from abuse and what action to take if they suspected abuse was taking place.

People told us that staff always arrived on time and stayed for the right amount of time. They told us they were always supported by the correct number of staff.

There were appropriate policies and procedures in place for managing medicines and people told us they received their medicines when they should. We found that medication administration records did not include a description of each medicine. We discussed this with the registered manager who resolved this issue during our inspection.

People receiving support from the service told us that staff were able to meet their needs. One person told us, “The staff are very nice and they always come at the right time”.

We found that staff were well supported. They received an appropriate induction, regular supervision and completed a variety of training. They told us communication at the service was good.

Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and we saw evidence that where people lacked the capacity to make decisions about their care, their relatives were consulted.

We found that people were supported appropriately with eating and drinking.

People were supported with their healthcare needs and were referred to health care services when appropriate.

The people we spoke with and their carers told us the staff were very caring. One person said, “My carer is very nice. He’s kind, caring and polite. It’s a good service”.

People told us staff respected their privacy and promoted their dignity and encouraged them to be independent.

People’s needs were reviewed regularly. Where people were unable to contribute to reviews, we saw evidence that their relatives had been involved.

We saw evidence that the manager regularly requested feedback about the service from the people being supported. The feedback received was used to develop the service.

People told us they were happy with the way Life-line Care 4 U Limited was being managed. One person told us, “The manager is a very nice man. He asks us regularly if we are happy with the care”.

We saw that the service had clear aims and objectives which focused on assisting people to live as safely and comfortably as possible in their own homes. The registered manager and the staff were clear about the aims of the service and their responsibilities.

We saw evidence that staff practice was observed regularly and checks were made of the care records they completed. These audits were effective in ensuring that appropriate levels of care and safety were maintained.