Archived: Shared Lives Service

Updated 16 February 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check 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.

This was a comprehensive inspection and was announced. We gave the service two working days’ notice of the inspection because we needed the service to make contact with the carers and people that used the service to ask if we could speak or meet with them.

The inspection was completed by one inspector and two experts-by-experience. The experts-by-experience in this inspection had personal experience of caring for someone who uses care services and on this inspection, they helped to make telephone calls to the carers who supported people in their own homes.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This 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. The provider returned the PIR and we took this into account when we made judgements in this report.

We reviewed the information we held about the service, including statutory notifications that the provider had sent us. A statutory notification provides information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We also contacted health and social care commissioners who place and monitor the care of people living in the home, and Healthwatch England, the national consumer champion in health and social care to identify if they had any information which may support our inspection.

During our inspection, we met or spoke with two people that receive the support and care from a carer, 18 carers, three Shared Lives staff, and the Registered Manager. We looked at care plan documentation relating to four people, and three staff files. We also looked at other information related to the running of and the quality of the service. This included quality assurance audits, training information for carers and staff, meeting minutes, and arrangements for managing complaints.

Updated 16 February 2018

The Shared Lives Service recruits people to become paid carers to support adults with a range of complex needs or learning disabilities. People stay in the carer’s home and receive their support within a family environment. People can stay with carers on a long term or short term respite basis. The Shared Lives Service is run by a Registered Manager and a team of staff who provide support to people and their carers.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Outstanding. At this inspection we found the service remained Outstanding.

Overwhelmingly, and without exception, the service put the people that use the service at the heart of everything they did. People had their own carers and staff that frequently and significantly went above expectations in order to enable people to have a fulfilled life, that was the way they wished it to be. People were given every opportunity to make their own decisions and were encouraged, empowered and supported to do so. The registered manager and staffing team constantly strived to be the best that they could be, and was innovative in its approach to care. The Shared Lives Service went to great efforts to share their ideas and approach with other services to help encourage them to improve and provide better care for people.

People were protected from harm and were supported to take positive risks in the least restrictive way. People were empowered to understand how they should receive safe care and people understood that they could report any concerns if they felt this was in jeopardy.

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

Staff were committed to ensuring that people were matched with a carer that was completely right for them. This allowed the formation of strong caring relationships between each person and their carer and this was supervised appropriately by staff. People’s healthcare needs were prioritised and these were met with a unique approach to facilitate people’s personal backgrounds and preferences.

Carers had great respect and admiration for the people they supported and this was reflected back from the people that received care and support. People were fully empowered and involved in decisions about their care and were supported to do so when other agencies or services had given up.

People received personalised care which had input from the other care services each person used however the format of people’s care plans made this confusing and we have made a recommendation about the review of care plans.

The management of the service was extremely well led with strong leadership from the registered manager who empowered staff and carers to challenge boundaries and support people to have the freedom and choices within their own lives. The management team were open and keen to receive feedback and reflected on this to improve the service wherever this was possible.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.