This inspection took place on 17 July 2018 and was announced.

Lighthouse Care Solutions is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community and specialist housing. It provides a service to adults with learning and physical disabilities and older people, including people living with dementia who live in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were four people using the service.

The service had a registered manager who was also the provider. 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.

At the previous inspection of this service in January 2018 we had identified that improvements were needed across the areas of safe and well-led to help ensure that people received safe care and support. The provider sent us an action plan in March 2018 setting out the improvements they planned to make. At this inspection we found that some improvements had been made however, these were insufficient to evidence that the provider fully understood what was required of them under the Health and Social care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This is the second consecutive time the service has been rated Requires Improvement.

In January 2018 we had identified that staff had not been provided with sufficient information and guidance to support them to manage risks to people’s safety and welfare effectively. At this inspection we found that further work was still needed in this area. At the previous inspection we noted that the provider’s recruitment process required improvement to help ensure the right people were safely recruited. At this inspection there had not been any new staff recruited in the interim period so it was not possible for us to confirm improved practice in this regard. Learning from incidents was not effectively used to improve the quality of service people received. People’s relatives felt that people received safe care. There were enough staff employed to meet people’s needs safely.

At the previous inspection the provider did not have a system of robust record keeping in place. At this inspection we found that whilst some improvements had been made these were insufficient to evidence that the provider fully understood what was required of them under the Health and Social care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The registered manager had recently secured support from an independent consultant to help them improve the quality of the service provided together with their knowledge and understanding.

People and their relatives knew the registered manager by name and felt that they were always approachable with any problems. The registered manager demonstrated a good knowledge of the staff they employed and people who used the service. Satisfaction surveys had been distributed to people who used the service and their relatives.

People’s relatives felt that the care and support provided was appropriate to meet people's needs. Staff received basic core training to support them to be able to care for people safely and since the previous inspection in January 2018 a system of staff supervision had been introduced. Staff were available to support people to access healthcare appointments if needed and they liaised with health and social care professionals involved in people's care if their health or support needs changed. People's consent to care was sought by staff.

People and their relatives told us they were happy with the staff that provided the care. Staff took the time to do things outside of their remit to help improve people’s experiences and to recognise and act on details that were important to people. People’s relatives felt that t

This was the first comprehensive inspection of this service since the provider initially registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in September 2016. The provider started to provide care and support for people in August 2017 and this inspection took place on 25 January 2018.

Lighthouse Care Solutions is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community and specialist housing. It provides a service to adults with learning and physical disabilities and older people, including people living with dementia who live in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were four people using the service.

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.

At this inspection we found that record keeping was not robust in areas such as care planning, risk assessment and staff supervision, training and recruitment.

People felt safe using the service. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of the different types of abuse that could occur and their role in protecting people from abuse. There were enough staff available to meet people’s needs safely.

People and their relatives told us that the care and support provided by Lighthouse Care Solutions was appropriate to meet people's needs. Staff received training to help them to provide people’s care and support. Staff sought people's consent to care. People received support to access healthcare appointments if needed.

People and their relatives told us they were satisfied with the staff that provided their care. Staff members often took the time to do things outside of their remit to improve people’s experiences and to recognise and act on details that were important to people. The service had received a number of written compliments that praised the staff and management team for the quality of the care provided for people. People were fully involved in making decisions about their own care, felt their views were listened to, and respected. People felt that they were treated with dignity and respect.

People and their relatives told us they had been involved in developing people's care plans and felt that their opinion was respected and taken into account. People told us they felt the registered manager took them seriously and if they needed to change or adapt their care they felt they only had to make a phone call. The provider had policies in place to help ensure that any concerns and complaints raised by people who used the service or their relatives were appropriately investigated and resolved.

People and their relatives felt that the registered manager was always approachable with any problems. The registered manager demonstrated a good knowledge of the staff they employed and people who used the service. Satisfaction surveys were in the process of being developed to distribute to people who used the service, their friends and relatives.