East Sussex Shared Lives Scheme

Updated 10 April 2020

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a shared lives scheme, they recruit, train and support self-employed shared lives carers (SLC) who offer accommodation and support arrangements for vulnerable adults within their own family homes in the community.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 10 December 2019 and ended on 17 December 2019. We visited the office location on 10 December 2019 and contacted people by telephone to gather their views on 11, 16 and 17 December 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

It was not practicable to visit people during the inspection, some were busy, and some people could not respond to our questions. Therefore, after the site visit, we liaised with the provider and sent them the questions we wanted to ask people. The provider then sent out the survey to people after our office site visit and there were 11 responses. We also telephoned and spoke with two people, their relatives and their shared lives carers. During the office visit we spoke with five staff, which included the registered manager.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We also contacted healthcare professionals linked to the service for their feedback.

Updated 10 April 2020

About the service

East Sussex Shared Lives Scheme is a shared lives scheme which provides people with long-term placements, short breaks and respite care, within shared lives carers (SLC) own homes. The service offered supported to people with learning disabilities, mental health support needs, as well as physical disabilities.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection 58 people were supported by the service who received the regulated activity of personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People continued to receive a level of care and support that enabled them to have independence and achieve their dreams and aspirations. This was possible due to the dedication of all those involved in the service at putting people at the heart of everything they did.

The values of the service were about providing the best possible outcomes for people and helping them to overcome hurdles that may have been prevalent their whole life. Staff training, their understanding of support networks available to people, and their ability of putting people at the centre of what was happening to them had resulted in many positive changes to people’s lives.

People who came to the service in crisis had been supported to take back control of their lives which had enabled them to re-join their local communities, return to education and achieve employment.

The ethos of continuous improvement and seeking feedback from people and staff were used by the registered manager to ensure the service was the best it could be.

The staff were proud of the work they did, and their best practice methodology was shared with other agencies to improve similar services across the country. Continual learning and development was at the forefront of how the service operated, and they sought out areas where an increase in staff knowledge and understanding could improve the lives of people.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence. The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

People said they felt safe, and that shared lives carers took the time to get to know them and treated them with kindness and compassion.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was outstanding (published 30 March 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.