LIM Independent Living and Community Care Services Limited

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

We assessed all of the quality statements within this key question. Our rating for this question has improved to Good. People were involved in assessing their needs and able to state their choices and preferences for how their care and support was provided. People’s care and support was planned and delivered in line with current practice, legislation and standards. Information for staff about how people’s needs should be met had been improved and staff understood how people’s needs should be met. The staff team worked well together and with others to make sure people experienced positive outcomes in relation to their care and support needs. People were supported to stay healthy and well. Staff monitored people’s health and wellbeing and made sure people received timely support if they became unwell or needed extra support from professionals with their healthcare needs. The management team reviewed the care and support people received to make sure this remained effective and helping people achieve positive outcomes. The service had improved their arrangements and was now working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA).

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

People felt involved in the assessment process and in decisions made about their care and how that care was to be delivered.

Staff told us they reviewed people’s initial assessments so they had information about people’s needs and the level of support they required. However, one staff member told us, “We read the care plans first of all. Some of the care plans don’t give all the information, so the next of kin can tell us as well what people need.” The management team told us about improvements that had been made to the assessment process. The registered manager said, “We have an assessment form which I take into clients homes. This is quite detailed and we collect a lot of information and make sure these are person centred. We make sure people are involved or next of kin if people can’t participate. We make sure there is someone there to give us the information. The questions we ask are focussed on what people would like.”

Effective processes were now in place to assess and review people’s needs. People and their relatives were involved in assessments and reviews to enable the management team to obtain the information they needed to plan and deliver the care and support people required. People’s care plans were current and reflected their choices about how and when support should be provided.

People felt they received high quality care which met their needs. A relative told us, “We have had good quality care for the last 2 years.”

Staff told us their training enabled them to be able to deliver support in line with best practice guidance. The management team told us how staff were supported to deliver care and support in line with best practice guidance. The registered manager told us, “We have regular team meetings, supervisions and 1-2-1's…we also call care workers to make sure they are aware of any updates and changes.”

Staff were supported to deliver care to people in line with legislation and good practice standards. Assessments, monitoring and reviews of people’s needs helped the management team make sure care and support was planned and delivered in line with people’s choices and preferences. This information was accessible to staff through people’s care plans. Staff were now provided regular and relevant training to ensure they were up to date with best practice guidance when delivering care and support to people.

People told us the staff supporting them worked well together and shared information so everyone was able to support them safely and effectively.

Staff told us they worked well together and there was good team work, with clear communication and information sharing.

A partner agency said, “Joint working at LIM works extremely well.” There was proactive joint working arrangements and multi-disciplinary teams worked well together. A partner agency told us, “I give advice to [the registered manager] and the team take on board the advice given as they know it will benefit and improve the support given to people.”

People were supported to transition safely and effectively whilst maintaining continuity of care when they first started using the service. Assessments of people’s needs ensured information was shared in a timely way, to help people make informed decisions about how they would like their needs to be met.

People told us staff supported them to remain well and have healthy lives. They told us if there were feeling unwell then staff would support them to obtain medical attention. People also told us staff supported them with their nutritional needs and supported them to cook in line with their preferences, including cooking traditional meals from people’s cultural heritage. One person told us, “I have all the care I need. [The staff] warm up my food for me and every Friday I have an extra hour when the care workers help me cook myself African food.”

Staff confirmed they provided people with support to attend medical appointments and maintain a healthy lifestyle. One staff member said, “We support people to get ready for any appointments and wait for the hospital transport to come.” They also confirmed they provided any support people required at mealtimes to ensure they ate regularly and their nutritional needs were met. A staff member told us, “The person can feed themselves but I’m around if I’m needed and if there is anything I can do for her.”

Information about people’s healthcare needs were assessed and reviewed at regular intervals. This ensured staff had access to up to date information about people’s healthcare needs which helped them support people to stay healthy and well. Systems were in place to seek support for people when they became unwell. The registered manager had oversight of this and made sure prompt responses were received from the relevant healthcare professionals to ensure people received timely support.

People felt staff were well skilled and knowledgeable and this enabled them to support people to achieve positive outcomes. This included physical support needs, as well as any support people required with their mental health and to ensure their wellbeing. One relative told us, “I am very confident with their standards. Although my [relative] is unable to communicate there is a smile on his face when he sees them. They are flexible. If there are times when I need emergency care, the office sorts it out. They will always send someone who knows him.”

Staff were committed to their jobs and supporting people to achieve good outcomes. One staff member said, “I go there to make a difference and make [person using the service] better. I love my job.” Staff also told us they enabled people to achieve their best outcomes by, “creating individualised care plans, encouraging independence, guaranteeing open communication, and cultivating a secure, encouraging environment.”

Systems were in place to monitor the care and support provided to people to ensure this remained effective. Staff maintained records after each care call of the care and support they provided to people and their observations about people’s health and wellbeing. The management team reviewed these records at regular intervals and used this to inform their ongoing assessment, monitoring and review of people’s care and support needs, and made changes where these were required.

People told us their care workers consistently sought their consent before carrying out tasks and any other activity they undertook on behalf of the person.

Staff were respectful of people’s decisions and choices. They involved people in their care and obtained their views before providing support. One staff member said, “My clients will tell me what support they want and I ask them what they would like and how they are. I would then know what they want me to do."

The service was now working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). Systems were in place to ensure mental capacity assessments had been completed with people and others involved in their care. People’s capacity and ability to consent was taken into account, and people had been involved in planning their care and support. Where people could not make decisions and consent to their care, processes were in place to make sure any decisions would be made in their best interests.