LJM - Homecare Lincoln

LJM Homecare Lincoln is a home care service providing support to adults of all ages living in their own homes. At the time of our assessment, the service was supporting 72 people. Not everyone using a homecare service receives personal care. CQC only regulates the care provided to people receiving the regulated activity of personal care. 46 people were receiving the regulated activity.

Overall, people received safe, personalised care and there were many examples of very positive outcomes. Staff supported people with complex needs, including people other services had been unable to support. The care delivered helped people regain independence, improve their health and wellbeing and remain involved in decisions about their lives. People and relatives were particularly positive about compassionate end of life care.

Care plans and risk assessments were detailed and reflected people’s needs, preferences and routines. Staff worked closely with health and social care professionals and responded appropriately when people’s needs changed. Medicines were managed safely and safeguarding concerns and incidents were fully investigated, shared and lessons learnt identified to improve future care provision.

Many people described staff as kind and caring. However, experiences were not always consistent. Some people raised concerns about continuity of staff teams, poor communication, staff understanding of individual needs and how effectively complaints led to improvement. Some staff felt concerns they raised were not always followed up or that outcomes were not shared with them.

The registered managers were committed to improving the service and were knowledgeable about people’s needs and the support staff required. The provider had extensive systems for oversight and worked particularly well with partner organisations. There was a strong approach to learning and innovation, with technology and research used to identify changes in people’s health and explore new ways of improving care. Some further improvement was needed to ensure communication, staff practice and people’s experiences were consistently good across the service.