Lifeways SIL Limited (North East)

Lifeways SIL Limited (North East) is a domiciliary care agency. The service provides 24-hour recovery based support for people with complex mental health needs. The provider has a flexible approach and supports people as and when they require intervention. At the time of our inspection 3 people were receiving personal care.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

The provider had systems in place to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Staff told us they received training in safeguarding and would report anything of concern to the management team immediately.

Risks associated with people’s care were identified and managed safely. People received their medicines as prescribed by staff who were competent in the safe handling of medicines.

The provider's recruitment system was robust and ensured suitable staff were employed. People and their relatives told us staff were available as required and were very supportive.

Accidents and incidents were recorded, and action was taken to mitigate future incidents.

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.

Staff told us they received appropriate training which gave them the skills to carry out their role.

People and relatives were complimentary about the service they received, commenting that the management team were approachable, and the carers were kind and friendly.

Care plans were person centred and offered staff guidance about how to support people in line with their needs. Staff told us they were keen to ensure care and support was delivered in line with people’s preferences.

The management team had an effective system in place to monitor the quality of the service. The registered manager was responsive to comments and feedback and used this to develop the service.

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 15 August 2017).

Why we inspected

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions ot inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Lifeways SIL Limited (North East) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow Up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

Ashmount Court comprises of 16 self-contained flats and is situated near Doncaster. The service provides 24 hour recovery based support for people with complex mental health needs.

At the time of our inspection the service did not have 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. The service was managed on a day to day basis by the scheme manager, who had support from a registered manager within the same company.

The service had a system in place to safeguard people from abuse. Staff we spoke with told us they had attended training and learned how to recognise and report abuse if needed.

We looked at support plans and found that risks associated with people’s support had been identified. These included ways of minimising the risk to help keep people safe.

People received their medicines in a safe way and as they were prescribed. The provider had a safe administration of medicines procedure which had four different levels of support. These were identified in people’s support plans and reviewed on a regular basis.

Staff were recruited in a safe way. Pre-employment checks were completed prior to them commencing work at the service. Staff received an induction to the service which included training, reading policies and procedures and getting to know people who used the service. New starters worked alongside experienced staff until they were confident in their new role.

We spoke with people who used the service and they felt there were enough staff around to support their needs. Staff felt they worked well as a team.

Staff received training and support to carry out their responsibilities. Staff told us that training was provided on a frequent basis and was informative. Staff also received regular discussions with their line manager to reflect on their practice and to discuss job related issues.

We checked to see if the provider was meeting the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. We found that staff were aware of the principles of the act and ensured they obtained consent prior to supporting people.

Where required staff gave assistance to people to shop for food and to develop cooking skills. We saw the service had recipes to promote healthy eating.

Access to healthcare professionals was sought when required and without delay. This was documented and advice given was discussed with people and recorded in their recovery support plan.

People who used the service were complementary about the staff team and felt they did all they could to involve them in their support.

We observed staff interacting with people during our inspection. Staff were understanding and supportive and encouraged people to make their own choices.

People had recovery support plans in place which were tailored to meet their individual circumstances. These were reviewed regularly to ensure people’s needs were being met.

We saw that concerns were responded to appropriately and where necessary included meetings with the complainants in order to resolve issues. The scheme manager told us that complaints were used in a positive manner to develop the service.

People we spoke with felt the management team were supportive and inclusive. They offered opportunities for people to comment about the service and listened to people’s views.

Audits were completed to ensure the service was meeting the objectives within the provider’s policies and procedures.