About the service Lifeways Community Care (Stoke) are registered to provide personal care and support to people either living in the community in their own homes or to people who lived in shared accommodation under tenancy agreements, self-contained bungalows or apartments within the community. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting personal care to people across nine sites and was supporting 36 people aged 18 and over at the time of the inspection.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were empowered to lead their care and had the maximum choice and control over the way in which they were supported. People’s care was personalised which met their needs, and their preferences were consistently considered.
People were supported to live independently, for some this was the first time in their lives. They were supported to move into the service with care and compassion taking their anxieties into consideration and building support around them which made them feel safe and secure.
Staff understood people’s communication needs and supported them in the best way possible using a variety of tools to support this.
People were allowed to make meaningful friendships and staff were extremely proactive in ensuring people were able to follow their interests, hobbies and lifelong ambitions. This meant people lived meaningful and fulfilling lives. People had their diverse needs considered and respected.
People were able to freely complain and could be assured their complaints would be taken seriously and dealt with promptly and professionally.
There was a positive culture within the staff team which filtered through the services, meaning people were supported by a positive staff team.
The registered manager and the management team lead by example. People, staff and relatives felt their views were important in shaping the future for the service and they felt listened to. The service was proactive and continually worked on ways to improve, this involved being open to feedback from people and relatives.
People and relatives felt they were supported by a caring and considerate staff team who knew them well. People were able to make informed choices and were supported in positive risk taking.
People had their health and wellbeing including their nutritional needs met and were supported and encouraged to live healthier lives.
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 support 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.
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.
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 February 2017).
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.