Archived: Lifeworks Also known as Yorkshire Housing Limited

Lifeworks is part of the Yorkshire Housing group and provides a domiciliary care and supported living service to younger and older adults who have a learning disability or autism spectrum disorder. At the time of our inspection there were 30 people receiving the regulated activity of personal care within eight supported living sites. Yorkshire Housing is currently working with the local authority to transition the Lifeworks services to other providers.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they felt safe. Safeguarding policies and procedures were in place and staff had received safeguarding training, although some training required renewing. Staff we spoke with were able to identify types of abuse and what to do if they had safeguarding concerns.

Risks to people were assessed and appropriate measures put in place to positively manage and review these. Incidents and accidents were reported with outcomes and actions taken as a result.

Medicines were safely managed with some people assessed as able to manage their own medicines to promote independence.

We saw staff were recruited safely to ensure their suitability to work with vulnerable adults. Sufficient staff were deployed to meet the care and support needs of people living at the service. Staff were suitably trained and supported with regular supervision and annual appraisals.

People's health care needs were usually met. One of the services where some missed appointments had occurred had commenced a new shift system to mitigate the risk of this happening in the future.

People were supported to consume a healthy diet and encouraged to be as independent as possible with meal preparation.

People told us they liked living at the service and staff were kind and caring. Staff we spoke with knew people well including what they liked to do and their care and support needs. We saw staff interacted with people with respect and supported their independence where possible.

Plans of care were clear and person centred with clear emphasis on independence and achievement of goals. Regular reviews and meetings were held where any changes were discussed with people and/or their relatives. Best interest meetings and evidence of consent were documented.

Activities were planned on an individual basis and according to people's choice.

Systems were in place to log, investigate and respond to complaints. Complaints were responded to appropriately and people we spoke with understood how to make a complaint. However, no central log was kept of complaints within the service to analyse for trends and help drive service improvements.

We received inconsistent feedback about the management and quality of the service. Although people living at the service told us they were happy, some relatives were concerned about communication, management and the use of agency staff. Some staff also expressed concerns about communication, poor morale and staff divisions at one of the service houses.

A range of audits and checks were in place to monitor and improve the service.

The management team were enthusiastic about the work they had carried out so far and plans for future improvements. Regular meetings were held with people living at the service, relatives and staff to discuss concerns, activities and improvements within the service.