Sandwell Shared Lives

Updated 28 June 2019

The inspection: We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team: This consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type: Shared Lives is a service registered to provide personal care to people living with Shared Lives carers in a family environment.

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 two days’ notice of the inspection site visit because we needed to be sure people using the service and carers would be able to speak with us, either in person or on the telephone.

The inspection site visit started on 15 May 2019 when we visited the office location to see the registered manager and office staff. We asked for permission from people and carers to speak with them about their

experiences of using the service. The inspection ended on 21 May 2019 after we had spoken with people using the service and their carers in person or by phone.

What we did: Before our inspection visit, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR) is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed information we held about the service in the form of statutory notifications received from the service and any safeguarding or whistleblowing incidents, which may have occurred. A statutory notification is information about important events, which the provider is required to send us by law. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection, we spoke with four people using the service and one relative to get their feedback. We received feedback from two care professional and we also spoke with three carers, two scheme staff and the registered manager. We reviewed three people's care records; records relating to the management of the service, and staff and carer recruitment, assessment and training records.

Updated 28 June 2019

About the service:

Sandwell Shared Lives provides care and support to people within a family environment. Approved Shared Lives Carers support adults with a learning disability or autism. People lived with their carer on a short or long-term basis depending on their needs. There were 14 people using the service at the time of the inspection. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the regulated activity of 'personal care' being provided to people who use the service. However, we do take account any wider social care provided.

What life is like for people using this service:

People told us they were happy living with their carer and being part of the family. People explained that they felt safe living with their carer and families and confirmed that the support they received from their carer was kind and very caring. Staff and carers knew how to recognise signs of abuse or harm and what action they needed to take to keep people safe. Effective risk assessments and management plans ensured people were supported to manage risks in their daily lives.

Prospective carers were approved by an independent panel to ensure recruitment systems were robust. There was a lengthy 'matching' process which ensured people were placed with carers that had the skills to

meet their needs. There were enough staff and carers to run the scheme.

Carers had the support they needed to care for people. They were provided with regular breaks and had ongoing and regular support from Shared Lives staff. Carers had received regular training and had the skills to support the people they cared for. They were aware of shared lives policies and care practices and their responsibilities to protect people from harm and abuse.

People's privacy, dignity and independence was promoted. Carers and staff understood the Equality Act and supported people's diverse needs. People had been involved in the assessment of their care and decisions about their support needs and where they should live. People's independence was promoted, and they were given opportunities to personally develop appropriate to their needs and wishes.

The service was well led. Regular monitoring and auditing of care records and practice helped to maintain the quality and values of the service people received. Feedback from people, carers and families was requested to help improve the service.

Rating at last inspection: Good (Report published December 2016)

Why we inspected: We inspected this service as part of our ongoing Adult Social Care inspection programme. This was a planned inspection based on the previous Good rating.

Follow up: The next scheduled inspection will be in keeping with the overall rating. We will continue to monitor information we receive from and about the service. We may inspect sooner if we receive concerning information about the service.

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