9 August 2016
During a routine inspection
Lion Court is a domiciliary care agency and is registered to provide personal care to people with learning disabilities and/or mental health needs. Many of the people who access the service live in a tenancy and have twenty four hour support. There were 335 people receiving support at the time of the inspection.
The service did not have a registered manager in place at the time of the inspection. A recruitment process had commenced. 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.
Staff had received training in how to recognise and report abuse. All staff were clear about how to report concerns and were confident that any allegations made would be fully investigated to help ensure people were protected. There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of the people who used the service.
People were protected by the registered provider’s safe recruitment practices. Staff underwent the necessary checks which determined they were suitable to work with vulnerable adults, before they started their employment.
People were supported to take their medicines by staff that were appropriately trained. People received care and support from regular staff that knew them well, and had the knowledge and skills to meet people’s individual needs.
Before people started using the service their needs were assessed to ensure the service could meet them. Following the assessments personalised care plans were developed with the person and their relatives, where appropriate, to agree how the care and support would be provided.
Care plans provided staff with clear direction and guidance about how to meet people’s individual needs. These were regularly reviewed and updated.
People’s risks were anticipated, identified and monitored. Staff managed risk effectively and supported people’s decisions, so they had as much control and independence as possible.
People said they would not hesitate to speak to any member of staff if they had concerns about the service they received. People and their relatives knew how to make a formal complaint if they needed to. We saw records that demonstrated the complaints procedure had been followed.
There was a management structure within the service which provided clear lines of responsibility and accountability.
There were quality assurance systems in place to identify any areas for improvement for staff.