We carried out a review of the data available to us about Liberty Lodge Limited on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Liberty Lodge Limited, you can give feedback on this service.
Liberty Lodge is a support living service providing accommodation and personal care to four people with a learning disability and a range of needs. The service is provided in one house, where up to four people live independently, and have their own tenancy agreements for the rooms they occupy. The same four active males continued to live in the service.
The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People enjoyed living at the service and had done for a number of years. The staff team were committed to enhancing people’s self-worth and well-being. People were living fulfilled lives and had been able to achieve things for the first time including life skills, taking part in activities and going abroad on holiday. Relatives told us of the improvements in people’s quality of life because of the support provided by the staff at Liberty Lodge.
People’s safety had been promoted and potential risks posed to people had been reduced. Staff understood their responsibilities about safeguarding and had been appropriately trained. People’s safety in the event of an emergency had been considered. Equipment was serviced and maintained. People if required received their medicines safely as prescribed by their doctor.
Staff support was planned in conjunction with people taking into account their social activities. Staff continued to be recruited safely following the provider’s policy and procedure.
People’s care centred around their needs and preferences. Staff treated each person with compassion and kindness, and continuously used feedback to improve the service.
Staff felt there was an open culture where their views were listened to and respected. Staff felt supported in their role by the management team and received guidance when needed. The registered manager worked alongside the care staff to support them and observe practice.
Staff had been trained to meet people’s needs and worked well together to ensure people received joined up care and support.
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.
The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.
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 06 December 2016).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Liberty Lodge Limited (the service) is the name of a house at 43 Radnor Park Crescent in Folkestone. It is also the name of a company that rents the house from a landlord and which provides support for the four people who live in the service. Each person has a tenancy agreement that explains their right to have their own bed-sitting room. The service is registered to provide support for people of all ages including people who need support due to misusing drugs and alcohol, a learning disability, sensory needs or mental health issues. In our report we refer to the people who live in the service as being, 'tenants'.
The company was owned and operated by two directors. One of them was the managing director and one of them was also the registered manager. 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. In our report when we are speaking about both the managing director and the registered manager we refer to them as being, ‘the registered persons’.
Staff knew how to respond to any concerns that might arise so that tenants were kept safe from abuse. Tenants had been helped to avoid the risk of accidents and they had been supported to manage their medicines safely. There were enough staff to provide tenants with the support they needed and background checks had been completed before new staff had been appointed.
Staff had received training and guidance and they knew how to support tenants in the right way. Tenants had been assisted to plan and prepare their own meals and they had been supported to receive all of the healthcare assistance they needed.
Staff had ensured that tenants’ rights were respected by helping them to make decisions for themselves. In addition, the registered persons had taken the necessary steps to ensure that people only received lawful care that respected their rights.
Tenants were treated with kindness, compassion and respect. Staff recognised tenants’ right to privacy and promoted their dignity. Confidential information was kept private.
Tenants had been consulted about the support they wanted to receive and they had been given all of the assistance and encouragement they needed to be as independent as possible. Tenants had been supported to pursue their work commitments, hobbies and interests. There was a system for quickly and fairly resolving complaints.
Tenants had been fully consulted about how best to develop the service. Quality checks had been regularly completed to ensure that tenants reliably received all of the support they needed. Staff were supported to speak out if they had any concerns, good team work was promoted and tenants had benefited from staff acting upon good practice guidance.
The people we spoke with said they had many interests and things to do, and told us what they needed support with. We saw that the care records included people's views and the choices they had made. The staff we spoke with were aware of people's preferences and needs. A relative we spoke to told us that 'communication is very good between the staff'.
The people we spoke with said they would go to staff if they had any problems, concerns or worries at any time. They told us that the staff were always friendly and supported them well.
Whilst no formal meetings took place, there were informal gatherings in the house each day, where topical discussions took place about anything that people wanted to raise. We saw that a range of decisions had been made by involving and consulting people in this way.
We found that there were sufficient staff on duty, who had a range of experience and qualifications relevant to supporting people's needs. Staff had regular training and supervision.
The service had processes in place to monitor the quality of care it provided, and to identify and respond to any areas of concern.