Live Life Care Limited achieved a Good rating across all five key questions at its November 2017 inspection, having successfully addressed the previous Requires Improvement concern around missed visits by implementing an automated call tracking system. The sole recommendation was to improve daily care records, which were task-focused and lacked sufficient person-centred detail.
Concerns (2)
minor
Record keeping
: “daily records recorded by care staff tended to be task focused and did not consistently reflect key information that was passed between care staff and office staff”
minorPerson-centred care: “Daily care records were kept; these were predominantly task focused and did not provide adequate detail of the person-centred care and support provided to people.”
Strengths
· New call tracking system implemented to prevent missed or late visits, resolving the previous Requires Improvement concern
· Stable staff team providing continuity of care; no bank or agency staff used
· Robust safeguarding training and open culture encouraging reporting of concerns
· Comprehensive staff induction including Care Certificate, regular supervision, appraisal and competency checks
· Effective medicines management with regular auditing of MAR records
Live Life Care Limited was rated Requires Improvement overall following an October 2016 inspection, with a breach of Regulation 12 identified due to 16 missed calls over six months and persistent rota failures causing late and inconsistent visits. The service demonstrated strengths in staff training, safeguarding, caring practice and care planning, with Good ratings across Effective, Caring and Responsive domains.
Concerns (5)
criticalMissed or late visits: “There had been 16 missed calls over the previous six months...significant time variations between pre-arranged calls”
moderateStaffing levels: “calls where two staff members were required and one staff member undertook the call alone”
moderateGovernance: “Management were aware of problems with the management of staffing rotas and had not made a timely response to address this.”
moderatePerson-centred care: “At one time I had the same care workers regularly but for many months there has always been someone new.”
minorRecord keeping: “Records of discussions at these meetings were not kept. This meant it was difficult to action any points which came out of the meetings.”
Strengths
· Staff had a good understanding of safeguarding and were confident to raise concerns with management
· Robust recruitment process including DBS checks ensured staff suitability
· Staff received appropriate induction, ongoing training, supervision and appraisals
· Care plans were personalised, regularly reviewed and people were involved in their creation
· Service worked effectively with healthcare professionals including GPs, occupational therapists and district nurses
Quality-Statement breakdown (14)
safe: Missed and late visits due to rota management failuresRequires improvement
safe: Safeguarding awareness and recruitment safetyGood
safe: Risk assessment and medicines managementGood
effective: Staff training, induction and qualificationsGood
effective: Supervision and appraisalGood
effective: Mental Capacity Act understanding and consentGood
effective: Healthcare professional liaison and referralsGood
caring: Dignity, respect and person-centred care deliveryGood
caring: Involvement of people in care decisionsGood
responsive: Personalised care planning and needs assessmentGood
responsive: Complaints handling and feedback processesGood
well-led: Rota and call monitoring governanceRequires improvement
well-led: Leadership culture and staff engagementGood
well-led: Quality assurance and audit systemsRequires improvement