Archived: Knowsley Community Partnership Scheme

Knowsley Community Partnership Scheme is a Shared Lives Scheme operated by Knowsley Council. The scheme recruits, approves and trains shared lives carers who provide accommodation in their own homes to adults who have a learning disability.

The service has a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.

The last inspection of Knowsley Community Partnership Scheme was carried out in November 2013 and we found that the service was meeting all the regulations we assessed.

People who used the service felt safe and had trust in their carers. Shared lives officers and carers knew how to respond to any concerns they had about people’s safety. They had access to safeguarding procedures which they understood. Shared lives officers and carers had received training to help them deal with emergencies and they were confident about responding to an emergency situation.

Risks people faced were assessed, identified and planned for. This included environmental risks and risks associated with tasks and activities people took part in. Risk management plans which were in place ensured people could take responsible risks as part of an independent lifestyle.

People were supported by carers and shared lives officers who were appropriately trained and supported. The matching process ensured people were placed with carers who were able to meet their needs. If additional support was needed to meet people’s needs the provider ensured there were systems in place which enabled this. Carers were positive about the support they received and felt they had the appropriate training and support to carry out their role.

Carers and shared lives officers had completed training and understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). They knew the main principles of the Act and showed good knowledge of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and when a DoLS may be required.

The recruitment process for shared lives officers and carers was safe and thorough. Carers went through a screening and matching process to ensure they were of suitable character and had the skills and knowledge to provide people with safe care. People spent time with their potential carers and families before making a decision to live with them.

People felt well cared for and their privacy and dignity was promoted and respected. People’s independence was encouraged, they pursued their interests and hobbies and took part in daily tasks around their home. Information about people’s rights was made available to them in an accessible format.

People had a person centred support plan which was developed based on comprehensive assessments. Support plans which included the management of risks informed carers about how they were to support people successfully. People’s preferred methods of communication, routines, likes and dislikes, wishes and preferences were included in their support plans.

There was an open and positive culture within the service whereby people felt able to discuss anything about the service. The registered manager and shared lives staff work well as a team to resolve any issues which arose. There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service people received. The views of people who used the service and carers was obtained as part of monitoring the quality of the service. Plans were developed and clearly described what actions were required to improve the service and who was responsible for ensuring the actions were followed through.

People were supported to make decisions about the way their care and support was provided and arrangements were in place to ensure decisions were made in the best interests of people who lacked capacity.

People told us they had been involved in developing their care plan and they had been supported in the right way. Shared lives carers had received training in dealing with an emergency and they told us they were confident about what to do if an emergency arose.

We found that all the required checks had taken place prior to carers starting work for the scheme. Assessments which had been carried out on carers prior to them starting work helped establish their suitability for the job. People who used the service told us they had helped choose their carer.

People had been given information about how to complain. People told us they had had no reason to complain but if they did they would and they knew who to complain to. People told us they were confident that their complaint would be listened to and dealt with in the right way.

Staff and carers knew what their responsibilities were for ensuring people's records were properly maintained and kept safe. Records we asked for were quickly located, well maintained, up to date and kept securely. People who used the service told us their records had been handled in the right way.

During the time we spent at the scheme office we noted that there was a warm and friendly atmosphere and everybody was made to feel welcome. We observed positive contact between staff that work for the scheme, people who used the service and carers.

People told us that they were regularly asked for their views about the services provided. People who used the service said, "My carer is the best and staff from partnership are always there if you need them" and "the scheme is the fantastic". Carers said, 'It is a really good scheme' and 'I feel well supported and have completed a lot of training'.

We saw that each person had a placement agreement which clearly set out what the person and the scheme expected from the carer and what the carer could expect from the scheme in return.

We saw that people were involved in the planning and review of their care and support. People were given opportunities to express their wishes and preferences with regards to how their care and support was provided and how they lived their lives.

People told that they felt safe using the service and would tell someone if they had any worries about the way they were treated.