18 April 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
About the service
First Care Lodge Ltd (supported Living) is a service that provides care and support to people living in a supported living setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support. 4 people were using personal care at the time of our visit and some of the people a learning disability and/or autism.
Right 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. Care plans were designed with the involvement of relatives ensuring that people's support needs were identified. Changes in people's needs were regularly reviewed and care plans updated so people received the right support that met their needs. Risk assessments were completed, and staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life. Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome.
Right Care
The provider failed to undertake proper checks when employing new staff to ensure they were safe to provide personal care. However, relatives told us staff knew people well and were caring. Staff understood people's cultural needs and provided culturally appropriate care. They understood and responded to people's individual needs. Staff knew how to effectively communicate with people to deliver safe care.
Right Culture
The provider's auditing systems were not effective as they did not identify and address shortfalls in staff recruitment and deployment. This meant people were supported by staff who were not always recruited or deployed properly. We have made recommendations about staff deployment and quality assurance. Relatives felt staff were friendly and easy to talk with. Staff told us the provider supported and provided them with training. The provider worked with other professionals, so people were able to receive specialist care when they needed it. The provider sought feedback, carried out spot checks and reviewed incidents and accidents ensure continuous improvement.
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 the service was Good (published on 21 December 2022)
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. 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 changed from Good to Requires Improvement based on the findings of this inspection. Please see the Safe and Well-led sections of this full report. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for First Care Lodge Limited (Supported Living) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk. Enforcement We have identified breach in relation to staff recruitment. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report. Follow up We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.