A chance for life Ltd

Updated 25 August 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 out by 1 inspector. As part of the inspection an Expert by Experience also contacted people and families by telephone. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

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

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people available to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on on 27 March 2023 and ended on 11 April 2023. We visited the location’s office on 28 March 2023 and 5 April 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 reviewed information we had received about the service and sought feedback from the local authority, professionals who work with the service and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. The provider not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about the service, what it does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke to 5 relatives to gather feedback on the care and safety of the service via telephone interviews. We spoke with the clinical director and the registered manager. We looked at care records of 2 people who used the service, training and recruitment records of 3 staff members and records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 25 August 2023

About the service

A Chance for Life Ltd is a service for adults and children whose lives have been changed by injury or serious illness. The service provides case management and rehabilitation. It also provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for people supported in their own homes; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support. At the time of the visit there were 103 people who used the service.

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 were supported with their medication and staff were trained in this. Some medicines recording was not in line with current guidance. Medication audits were not effective enough to identify those shortfalls. These were addressed with the registered manager at the time of the inspection and were addressed immediately.

People had person-centred care plans in place they had input into. People told us staff were well trained. They also told us they felt very safe. One family member told us, “[Person] is 100% safe with them.” Another told us, “I am happy to go out and leave [person] with the carers. I know that if I was unwell [family member] would be very safe with them.”

People's feedback of the service was positive. They said the care they received helped improve their quality of life. They told us they were supported by familiar staff and there were no issues with time keeping or missed calls.

Staff were recruited safely, well trained and well supported in their roles by the registered manager. Best practice and good care were encouraged with systems in place to share this conduct across the team. One relative told us, “I have never had any complaints. If there were any problems, I would go to [staff] first and if anything, more serious I would go to [registered manager] and feel very comfortable to do so. I have never been made to feel any call is inconvenient and they are very supportive of me and [family member].”

Risks to people and staff had been assessed with appropriate measures in place to help protect people. The registered manager had processes to monitor the safety of people and staff.

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. One family member told us, “They encourage [family member] to be as independent as possible all the time.” Another told us, “The agency is flexible about [family member’s] activities, and they fit the hours around her activities.”

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 11 January 2018). At this inspection we found the service remained good.

Why we inspected

We carried out this inspection due to the length of time since the last inspection. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions Safe and Well-led. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has remained good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for A Chance for Life Ltd on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Recommendations

We made a recommendation around the provider’s monitoring of medicines records. At the time of inspection, best practice guidance was not followed, and this was not identified by the provider. The provider took action to amend practices when this was highlighted on inspection.

Follow up

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