SoLo Life Opportunities was rated Requires Improvement overall following an October 2022 inspection, with breaches of Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment) and Regulation 17 (good governance) identified due to inadequate risk management and absent quality monitoring systems. Strengths included safe recruitment, effective safeguarding practices, good infection control, and a positive, inclusive culture promoted by the registered manager.
Concerns (7)
criticalCare planning: “The plan contained conflicting information about when this medicine should be administered. This put the person at risk which was unsafe.”
criticalGovernance: “Systems and process to audit, assess and monitor the quality and safety of the service were not in place.”
moderateRecord keeping: “Information was not available to evidence risk assessments had been reviewed...The ACCESS risk assessment form does not have a review date.”
moderateIncident learning: “Staff had not completed an accident/incident report form. This meant information had not been shared or reviewed by the management team.”
moderateMedication management: “Records were not available to evidence checks had not been carried out to provide assurance people's medicines were administered as prescribed and safely managed.”
minorCommunication with families: “A structured system was not in place to gather feedback from people and relatives about the service provided.”
minorSupervision / appraisal: “Supervisions (individual meetings) haven't always happened due to covering care but we are getting back on track.”
Strengths
· Staff knew people well and understood how to protect them from abuse; relatives had no concerns about safety.
· Staff were recruited safely and there were sufficient staff to provide planned care and support.
· Staff used PPE effectively and safely and had access to adequate stocks of PPE.
· The service was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act and appropriate DoLS authorisations were in place.
· Staff had completed safeguarding training and understood their responsibilities.
Quality-Statement breakdown (11)
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementRequires improvement
safe: Using medicines safelyRequires improvement
safe: Learning lessons when things go wrongRequires improvement
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseGood
safe: Staffing and recruitmentGood
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
safe: Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidanceGood
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about their roles, understanding quality performance, risks and regulatory requirementsRequires improvement
well-led: Continuous learning and improving careRequires improvement
well-led: Promoting a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empoweringGood