The Care Quality Commission
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Archived: Lifeways Community Care (Poole)

Suite B, Fleetsbridge House, Fleets Corner, Waterloo Road, Poole, Dorset, BH17 0HL (01202) 330830

Provided and run by:
Lifeways Community Care Limited

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

All Inspections

9, 11 September 2013

During a routine inspection

During the inspection Lifeways Community Care (Poole) were supporting 27 people across Hampshire, Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole.

We visited four people at home and spoke with three additional people who were also supported by the agency and shared their homes with the people we visited. We spoke with eight staff, two service managers and the quality manager.

We saw that people were relaxed with staff and freely approached and chatted with them. We saw that care workers knew each person's likes and dislikes and had good relationships with the people they cared for. They understood how people communicated and responded to people's non-verbal cues and gestures.

People who were able to give their consent were fully involved in making decisions. However, people who were not able to make some decisions did not have capacity assessments and best interest decisions recorded.

People experienced care, treatment and support that met their needs and protected their rights. This was because staff knew how to meet people's care and support needs and these were assessed and planned for. People were cared for, or supported by, suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff.

People were not consistently protected from risks associated with medicines because PRN ('as needed') plans were not in place.

There was an effective system in place to regularly check and monitor the quality of the service people received.

19 June 2012

During a routine inspection

We visited the agency office unannounced on 18 June 2012 and visited four people in their homes on 19 June 2012.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people using the service. This was because some of them had complex needs which meant they were unable to tell us about themselves. We spoke with two people, observed care workers supporting two people and spoke with five care workers.

We observed that care workers and people were relaxed with each other, laughing and enjoying each others company.

We saw that care workers knew each person's likes and dislikes and had good relationships with the people they cared for. They understood how people communicated and responded to people's non verbal cues and gestures.

Staff told us that they had staff meetings, handovers and support meetings with their line manager.

Two people told us that they have meetings with staff where they can talk about things that are important to them.

22 December 2011

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We met five people who use the service as part of this inspection. Most of the people we met were not able to tell us about their experience of receiving care from Lifeways. However, we were able to ask one person about the staff who supported them and they told us that they liked the staff and that staff treated them well.

We observed people receiving care as part of our inspection. We saw that there were some positive interactions between staff and people who use the service. Care workers demonstrated an understanding of individuals' needs. For example, one person we observed was unsettled and wanted to change their clothes during our visit. The care worker who was supporting them enabled them to make this choice and tried to engage them in various activities to help them settle. Another person who used the service was unwell at the time of our visit. The care worker who was supporting them was aware of this and showed sensitivity to their needs.

Although we observed some examples of person-centred care being delivered during our visits to people, our inspection found some weaknesses in staff supervision and training arrangements. We have made a compliance action to ensure that staff receive the support they require to provide safe and appropriate care to people who use the service.

10 August 2011

During an inspection in response to concerns

The three people we had contact with during our review were not able to tell us about their experiences of receiving support from the agency due to their learning disability.

We observed people receiving support from the agency and saw that this was done in a respectful, good-humoured and person-centred way. Care workers demonstrated sensitivity to individuals' needs and wishes, enabling them to make choices about the things they wanted to do and what they wanted to eat. Care workers responded appropriately when people initiated activities and ensured they were safely supervised at all times. We did not see evidence of care workers using sign language with one person who uses the service although their care plan indicated that they understood some basic signs and we observed them using a sign when communicating with staff.