Lifeways Community Care (Swindon)

Updated 24 April 2024

Date of assessment 11 January to 21 February 2024. Lifeways Community Care (Swindon) is part of a national organisation which provides care to people with learning disabilities living in different communities. The Swindon office manages supported living services for people living in the area of Swindon and Gloucestershire. Systems and processes were not always in place to keep people safe. Incidents were not always responded to appropriately and there was a lack of oversight of risk. Staff were recruited safely and had completed most mandatory training. We found that staffing levels did not always meet people’s funded hours, and staff told us this impacted people’s ability to access the community and receive 1:1 support. People’s medicines were not always managed safely. Assessments of people’s capacity had not always been carried out appropriately to assess whether people could make decisions about their care. However, we observed staff offering people choices and supporting people in a way that promoted their independence. Audits were not always effective in identifying concerns relating to the management of the service. Staff raised concerns about the lack of management oversight in all services. Regulatory requirements were not always met by managers working at the services, such as appropriately responding to safeguarding concerns and rectifying concerns found at the last inspection.

Updated 24 April 2024

People we spoke with told us they felt safe, and that they liked the staff members supporting them. However, we observed some staff did not always use language which promoted people’s independence, choices, dignity, and respect. For example, we observed one staff telling a person to “go and sit in your chair”. We observed another person asking to call their Mum, and saw this was not facilitated by staff. Relatives described staff as “kind and caring” but felt agency staff did not always know people well enough. Relatives raised concerns about the lack of management and leadership among the services. We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. 'Right support, right care, right culture' is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it. Right Support: People lived in a domestic dwelling within walking distance of local shops and amenities. People were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and the systems in the service did not always support this practice. Right Care: Staff had the basic training and knowledge to support people in keeping them safe, however there was no specific training available on how to support a person with a learning disability or autism. People's care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs and this promoted their health, mental wellbeing and enjoyment of life. Right Culture: There was poor managerial oversight among services, which meant the culture of services was not always positive or person centred.