Lifeway Care Ltd

Updated 16 December 2022

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

This inspection was conducted by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. 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 it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 30 November and ended on 7 December 2022. We visited the location’s office/service on 30 November 2022.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection, we reviewed all the information we held about the service including information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law. We requested feedback from other stakeholders. These included the local authority safeguarding team, commissioning team and Healthwatch Leeds. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection, we spoke with 7relatives of people using the service. We spoke with 5 staff members; this included care workers, administrative assistant, registered manager and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We looked at care records for 2 people using the service including medicine administration records. We looked at training, recruitment and supervision records for staff. We also reviewed various policies and procedures and the quality assurance and monitoring systems of the service.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We gathered additional feedback from staff.

Updated 16 December 2022

About the service

Lifeway Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes in Leeds. At the time of this inspection, the service was providing care to 6 people.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Relatives told us they felt the care provided was safe and were complimentary about the way in which care was delivered. All the relatives spoken with told us they would recommend the service.

Risk assessments were in place to identify and manage risks to people and staff. Accidents and incidents were recorded, investigated and analysed by the registered manager and changes implemented when required. Staff were knowledgeable about identifying and reporting safeguarding concerns. Medication was administered safely. The registered manager had processes for monitoring visits and were using a computer-based monitoring system to monitor whether staff were visiting as planned.

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.

People received support to maintain good nutrition and hydration and their healthcare needs were understood and met. The registered manager knew who to contact if people’s needs deteriorated.

Relatives consistently shared very positive feedback about staff being kind and respecting people’s wishes. We also found several examples of people’s independence being promoted.

The service had developed person centred assessments and care plans that guided staff according with people’s needs and preferences, including for those who required end of life care. Relatives knew how to make a complaint and they were confident that their complaint would be listened to.

There were effective quality assurance processes in place that allowed management to keep an appropriate oversight of the care delivered, as well as implementing any improvements required. We received positive feedback about the registered manager being approachable

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 1 October 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part by notification of an incident following which a person using the service died. This incident is subject to further investigation by CQC as to whether any regulatory action should be taken. As a result, this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident. However, the information shared with CQC about the incident indicated potential concerns about the management of risk of moving and handling people. This inspection examined those risks.

Follow up

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