Archived: Lancashire

Updated 20 August 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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

This service is also registered to provide care and support to people living in ‘supported living’ settings; 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. Nobody was receiving this level of support at the time of the inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

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

Inspection activity started on 02 August 2022 and ended on 04 August 2022. We visited the office location on 02 August 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was 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 the information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with one person over the telephone and one relative about their experiences of care being provided. We spoke with the registered manager and two members of staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included one person’s care records, one staff personnel file in relation to recruitment and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

Updated 20 August 2022

Lancashire is a registered domiciliary care agency and supported living service; providing personal care to adults in their own homes and supported living settings. Lancashire provides care to people who misuse drugs and alcohol, people living with physical disabilities, sensory impairments, eating disorders, dementia, learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorders and people who require mental health support. At the time of the inspection nobody was receiving support in any supported living settings, and one person was receiving domiciliary care.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects services 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.

People’s experience of using this service

At the time of the inspection one person was receiving a low level package of care from one dedicated member of staff. The provider ensured staffing contingency plans were in place, which had been agreed and discussed with the person receiving care. Pre- employment recruitment checks had been carried out, ensuring applicants were suitably vetted and able to work in the adult social care field.

Quality assurance and governance measures were in place. Systems and processes helped to ensure the quality and safety of care being delivered was being assessed, monitored and improved upon. A dedicated quality assurance officer had been recruited to ensure oversight was effectively maintained

Assessment and review of risks were in place. Care plans and risk assessments contained relevant and up to date information in relation to the support that needed to be provided, the person receiving care was fully involved in the decisions that had been agreed.

At the time of the inspection medicine support was not being provided. However, the provider ensured that medicine training had been delivered to staff, there was an up to date medication administration policy, and competency check and error incident documentation was in place for when it was needed.

Infection prevention and control (IPC) policies were in place. The staff member providing personal care was engaged in a twice weekly COVID-19 testing regime, PPE was provided and both the staff member and person receiving care had a COVID-19 risk assessment in place.

The person receiving care from Lancashire was supported to have maximum choice and control of their life 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.

Safeguarding measures and reporting procedures were in place. An up to date safeguarding policy contained relevant information about the importance of protecting people from harm and abuse, safeguarding training was provided and a safeguarding incident log helped to ensure such incidents were reviewed and investigated accordingly.

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 The Care Quality Commission on 01 June 2020, this was the first inspection of this newly registered service.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

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