The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has raised the rating for Lifeways Community Care (Halifax) from inadequate to good after finding the quality of people’s care has improved, following an inspection in November and December. They have also been removed from special measures as a result of their improvements.
Lifeways Community Care (Halifax), run by Lifeways Community Care Limited, is a supported living service providing personal care and support for people with mental health needs, autistic people and people with a learning disability. The service was supporting 26 people across 11 supported living houses in Halifax at the time of this inspection.
This inspection was carried out to follow up on improvements CQC told leaders to make at their previous inspection, which found breaches in regulation as the service was poorly managed and people’s care wasn’t person-centred. At this inspection, CQC found the service had made sufficient improvements in all aspects and was no longer in breach of regulations.
CQC has raised the service’s overall rating from inadequate to good, as well as for safe and responsive. CQC has again rated the service good for effective and caring. CQC has rated the service outstanding for well-led.
Linda Hirst, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said:
“When we inspected the service, we were very pleased to see significant improvements to people’s safety and quality of life. A new manager had helped build a person-centred culture, in which staff were proud to support people in ways tailored to their needs and which maximised their independence.
“People using the service were excited to tell us about the support they received from staff and how they’d been empowered to make decisions about their lives. People told us they felt safe and listened to, and one person compared their home and support to a family.
“Staff supported people to set personal goals and grow their independence, and we saw impressive examples of the positive impacts this had on people’s lives. One person had built the confidence to go out into the community for the first time in several years, and another was able to go on holiday abroad for the first time since they were two years old. Staff had also supported another person to get a job supporting older people experiencing loneliness through telephone companionship.
“One person was supported to speak verbally for the first time in three decades and another to take control of their own finances for the first time in their life who spoke positively about it making them feel human. Staff had even worked with one resident and their GP to support them to safely get a tattoo they wanted.
“Leaders investigated if things went wrong, and people in the service and staff felt comfortable giving feedback. We saw how this was being used to continually improve people’s care, and staff praised the new manager of the service, for leading by example.
“Everyone in this service should be proud of what they’ve achieved together. We’ve shared our findings with the management and removed it from special measures. We’ll continue to monitor the service, as we do all services, to make sure these improvements are maintained.”
Inspectors also found:
- Staff and leaders knew how to protect people from risks of abuse or avoidable harm.
- Staff had the training and skills they needed to do their jobs and made sure people weren’t left waiting for care or exposed to unacceptable risks
- Staff involved people fully in planning their care and respected their day-to-day decisions. For example, one person had created a photo book showing how they wanted staff to support them.
- People said they were able to do the activities they wanted and staff were always available when needed. People told us about theatre trips, discos, barge trips, holidays, and ice skating.
- The service supported people to form safe friendships and relationships. Inspectors saw photos of two people who had been supported to travel to Paris, where they became engaged.
- Staff made new residents feel comfortable before moving in, by working with families and other professionals to visit their new home and stay overnight if appropriate.
- People were matched to staff with similar interests to support relationship-building.
- Staff worked well with other professionals to support people’s health and help them feel comfortable in healthcare settings. In one case, staff supported a person to safely overcome their fear of a medical procedure.
- For people able to do so, staff held a music and movement programme weekly to encourage movement and ran a weekly run club. Some people had completed 10k runs and were training to complete the Great North Run.
- The service respected and celebrated people’s different backgrounds, including through awareness days, a pride party, and religious celebrations.