This announced inspection took place on 23 and 31 May and 1 June 2018. Lifeways Community Care (South London) provides care and support to people living in their own flats or houses in various supported living settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support. At the time of this inspection 60 people were using the service, many of whom had complex health and communication needs. The service was being provided across six London boroughs and Kent.

Not everyone using Lifeways Community Care (South London) receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

The service did not have a registered manager in post, the previous registered manager left in July 2017. 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.

At this inspection we found that improvement was required because some staff described a poor working culture at the service. They told us they did not feel supported by senior managers, were unable to question practice and did not feel they could work in an open and transparent manner. The provider worked in partnership with key organisations such as the local authority but did not consistently update them when changes in management staff occurred which resulted in important information not being always communicated.

The provider had safeguarding adults’ policies and procedures in place and staff understood their responsibility to safeguard the people they supported from abuse. Staff were also aware of the provider's whistleblowing policy and procedure. People’s finances were managed safely. Risk to people had been assessed and there were appropriate management plans in place to mitigate any identified risks. There were procedures in place to deal with foreseeable emergencies and people had personal emergency evacuation plans in place.

Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff began working at the service and there were enough staff available to support people's needs. People received adequate support to take their medicines safely. People were protected from the risk of infectious diseases because staff had completed infection control and food hygiene training, and knew of action to take to reduce the spread of infections. Where issues were identified, lessons were learnt to improve the quality of the service.

Before people started using the service they were assessed to ensure their needs would be met. New staff were supported with an induction to familiarise themselves with the provider’s policies and procedures and to shadow experience staff. All staff were provided with mandatory training to ensure they had the knowledge and skills to undertake their roles. Staff were supported through supervision and appraisals to support them to perform their jobs efficiently.

People were supported to maintain good health and had access to a GP and other healthcare services when required. They were supported to cook and eat nutritious food in sufficient amounts for their health and wellbeing. The provider worked in partnership with other health and social care services to provide people with joined-up care. Staff were aware of the importance of seeking consent from people and demonstrated an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, and staff supported the

We inspected Lifeways Community Care (South London) on 8 and 9 June 2016. The inspection was announced 48 hours in advance because the service provides care to people in their own home and we needed to be sure the registered manager would be available to speak to us.

At the previous inspection in June 2015 we found breaches of the legal requirements in relation to how the provider assessed people’s needs, supported staff and managed the service. We asked the provider to send us an action plan setting out how they intended to make the required improvements. These actions have been completed. The necessary improvements have been made and the provider is now meeting the relevant requirements.

Lifeways Community Care (South London) is a service which provides personal care to adults with a physical and/or learning disability who live in London and the South East. At the time of our visit there were 45 people using the service, many of who had complex health and communication needs.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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 were safe. Staff had good knowledge about how to identify abuse and report any concerns. People had risk assessments which gave staff sufficient information on how to manage the risks identified.

Staff arrived on time and stayed for the allotted time. Staff were recruited using an effective procedure which was consistently applied.

There were appropriate arrangements in place for the ordering, storing, administration and recording of medicines. People told us they received their medicines safely.

Staff knew the people they were caring for well and people were satisfied with the quality of care they received. People's care plans were up to date and reflected their current needs.

Staff were supported by the provider to deliver effective care through induction, regular training, supervision and appraisal. The registered manager and staff understood the relevant requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and how it applied to people in their care. Staff felt supported by the registered manager and understood their roles and responsibilities.

Staff supported people to have a nutritious, well balanced diet. Staff worked with a variety of healthcare professionals to support people to maintain good health. People had up to date health action plans and hospital passports.

People told us that they were treated with respect and staff were kind and caring. People were supported to be as independent as they wanted to be. People felt able to contact the service’s office to discuss their care.

The registered manager had worked in the adult social care sector for many years. She understood what was necessary to provide a quality care and had acted on feedback from external organisations to improve the service.

There were systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of care people received which identified areas of the service which required improvement. Where areas for improvement had been identified an action plan was in place which staff implemented.

.