Archived: Lion Court

Updated 11 September 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience who made telephone calls to families of the people using the service. 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 and support to people living in their own homes and 'supported living' accommodation so 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.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Due to the size of the service and the complexity of people's care and support needs, inspection activity started on 28 April and ended on 24 May 2021. We visited the office location on 28 April.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered with us. We sought feedback from a number of local authorities and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We carried out video calls with six people living in three separate houses, we spoke with four people and six family members over the phone and received feedback from one person and one family member by e-mail. We sought feedback from 28 staff through phone calls and e-mails; this included support staff and team leaders. We also spoke with the registered manager, director of mental health and nominated individual, director of learning disabilities, safeguarding lead and head of quality. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 13 people's care records and medication records. We looked at six staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 11 September 2021

About the service

Lion Court provides care and support to people living in a number of ‘supported living’ settings, including houses and flats, so that they can live as independently as possible.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection, the service was supporting 116 people with their personal care needs across St. Helens, Knowsley, Sefton, Liverpool and Warrington.

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

People felt safe with the staff who supported them and knew who they could talk to if they had any concerns. Family members spoke positively about the service and the safety of their loved ones. Staff had received training in relation to safeguarding concerns and were confident they could identify and respond to any incidents of abuse.

Risks to people had been assessed and management plans were in place to support people to manage people's risks safely. Medicines were managed safely by staff who had received the correct training. Accidents and incidents were managed appropriately and created an opportunity for the service to learn and improve.

Infection control procedures were robust and staff had taken additional measures to protect people from infection control risks associated with COVID-19.

There were enough staff and they had they had the necessary skills, experience and support to do their job. Some staff felt that due to the impact of COVID-19, they did not always have adequate, protected time to complete necessary training. This was currently being reviewed by the registered manager and provider.

People's needs had been fully assessed and staff had access to relevant information and guidance to provide effective care and support for people to achieve good outcomes. People had access to health and social care professionals when needed and staff sought advice where people's needs changed.

People were treated with dignity and respect and offered choices. 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.

Staff were kind and caring and told us they had real affection for the people they support. This was echoed by feedback from people and family members and observed through their interactions with people. Promoting independence for people was important to staff and they told us ways they tried to do this.

People received care and support that was individual and personalised to their needs, preferences and desired outcomes. Access to activities had been affected by the coronavirus pandemic so staff had supported people as best as they could with alternatives within the restrictions.

The registered manager, management team and staff understood their responsibilities. Managers promoted a culture that was person-centred and the comments received from people, family members and support staff confirmed this.

Quality assurance systems operated effectively and were used to continually improve the service. The provider and registered manager, regularly engaged with people, family members and staff through a variety of forums to ensure their voice was heard and to praise and acknowledge hard work and achievements.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

This service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. People were at the centre of their care and were supported to be as independent as possible. Managers and staff empowered people to their own decisions about their care and support.

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 30 May 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.