8 May 2019
During a routine inspection
LLOYDS CARE GROUP LTD. is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses or flats. At the time of the inspection there were 18 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service:
At the last inspection on 5 September 2018 we asked the provider to take action to make improvements in a number of areas. These included; the assessment of people’s capacity to make informed decisions, the assessment and mitigation of risk, the recruitment, training and ongoing support of staff and effective oversight and governance of the service. We found some improvements had been made, however further improvements needed to be made.
People told us they felt safe, however improvements were needed. People in some instances had experienced missed or late calls. The registered manager had spoken with staff about the importance of timeliness and good communication. The registered manager was in the process of recruiting additional staff. We found improvements were needed to recruitment practices to ensure references were sought from the most appropriate person. People were kept safe by staff who understood how to safeguard people from abuse and the actions they needed to take to protect people from the risk of harm. There were appropriate infection control practices in place. People were supported to take their medicines safely.
Staff were provided with induction, however improvements to ensure staff had sufficient time to understand the information was needed. Training was provided; however, a majority of training was through e-learning, which the registered manager had identified was not staff’s preferred method of gaining knowledge. People were supported to have sufficient amounts to eat and drink. Staff supported people to maintain their health and well-being. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible.
People were consistent in their praise of staff for the support they provided. People spoke of the kind and caring approach of staff. Some people told us staff had time to talk with them. People’s privacy and dignity was promoted.
People were involved in the assessment and care planning process to ensure the services offered were appropriate for them. People were supported to express their wishes and preferences regarding their care and staff were provided with information, within people’s care plans, which enabled them to provide personalised care. People were confident to raise concerns and complaints, to which people received a verbal response.
The provider did not have a system in place to monitor the quality of the service to ensure people received good quality care. The registered manager had plans to expand the service and improve staff training. However, there were no plans produced by the registered person which identified how this would be achieved, the resources available or how any improvements would be monitored. Opportunities for people to comment upon the quality of the service were limited. People's views were sought by telephone, however there was no evidence to support how comments were collated or used to drive improvement. People and staff were positive about the approachability and support provided by the registered manager.
Rating at last inspection:
Requires improvement. The last report for LLOYDS CARE GROUP LTD., was published on 1 November 2018.
Why we inspected:
This was a planned comprehensive inspection based on the rating from the previous inspection.
Follow up:
We will meet with the Provider. We will return to re-inspect in line with our inspection timescales for Requires Improvement services.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk