28 June 2018
During a routine inspection
Life Path Trust limited provides personal care for people with learning disabilities. The service supports people in three supported living complexes in the Oxfordshire area. The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen. On the days of our inspection 15 were being supported by the service.
At the last inspection, the service was rated Good.
At this inspection we found the service remained Good overall.
Why the service is rated Good:
At our last inspection in June 2016 we found risks were not always managed safely. Some staff did not always follow guidance provided to keep people safe and the registered manager immediately took action to address the issue. At this inspection we found improvements had been made.
People remained safe living in the home. There were sufficient staff to meet people's needs and staff had time to spend with people. Risk assessments were carried out and promoted positive risk taking, which enabled people to live their lives as they chose. People received their medicines safely and were protected from the risks of infection.
There was 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.
The service continued to provide support in a caring way. Staff supported people with kindness and compassion and went the extra mile to provide support at a personal level. Staff knew people well, respected them as individuals and treated them with dignity whilst providing a high level of emotional support. People and their relatives, were fully involved in decisions about their care needs and the support they required to meet those individual needs.
People’s nutritional needs were met and staff supported people to maintain a healthy diet. Where people had specific dietary needs, these were met.
There was a positive culture at the service that valued people, relatives and staff and promoted a caring ethos that put people at the forefront of everything they did.
People continued to receive effective care from staff who had the skills and knowledge to support them and meet their needs. People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the procedures in the service supported this practice. People were supported to access health professionals when needed and staff worked closely with people's GPs to ensure their health and well-being was monitored.
People had access to information about their care and staff supported people in their preferred method of communication.
The service continued to be responsive to people's needs and ensured people were supported in a personalised way. People's changing needs were responded to promptly. People had access to a variety of activities that met their individual needs.
The registered manager monitored the quality of the service and looked for continuous improvement. There was a clear vision to deliver high-quality care and support and promote a positive culture that was person-centred, open, inclusive and empowering which achieved good outcomes for people.