Archived: Wigan Council Shared Lives Service

Updated 25 May 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.

The inspection took place on 21, 22 and 27 March 2018. This was an announced inspection which meant the provider knew we would be visiting. We gave 48 hours notice because we wanted to make sure the manager would be available to support our inspection, or someone who could act on their behalf. We also wanted to give the service time to arrange for us to speak to people using the service and their champions.

The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and two Experts by Experience (ExE), who conducted telephone interviews with people using the service and their champions. An Expert by Experience is a person who has experience of using or caring for someone who uses health and/or social care services.

Before commencing the inspection we looked at any information we held about the service. This included any notifications that had been received, any complaints, whistleblowing or safeguarding information sent to CQC and the local authority. We also spoke to the quality assurance team at Wigan Council.

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.

During the course of the inspection we spoke to the lead provider manager, service manager and two shared lives officers. We also spoke to three people who used the service and 10 champions, including visiting the homes of two people who were placed with champions on long term placements.

We visited the office and viewed a variety of documentation and records. This included; three care files, six Medication Administration Record (MAR) charts, recruitment information, policies and procedures and audit documentation.

Updated 25 May 2018

Wigan Council Shared Lives Service provides care or support for people over the age of 18, who require help due to age, illness or disability. Care is provided by approved carers called ‘champions’. The service provides long term placements where people live alongside champions, in a family-like setting, short breaks; consisting of two to three night stays with a champion, respite care; consisting of overnight stays with a champion and day activities, where support is provided to engage in social activities of the persons choosing. Champions are supported by shared lives officers, who are responsible for the setting up, management and review of all placements.

Not everyone using Wigan Shared Lives Service receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of inspection 16 people were in receipt of personal care.

There was a service manager in post, who had applied to the CQC to be the registered manager. The previous registered manager had left the service in January 2018. 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.

At our last inspection on 29, 30 July and 05 August 2015 we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

During the last inspection, although the service was rated as good overall, it was rated as requires improvement in the the key question of safe, as we identified a breach of the regulations of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This was in relation to gaps in safeguarding training and processes. During this inspection we found the provider had addressed the previous regulatory breach and was now meeting all requirements of the regulations.

People told us they felt safe either being supported by or living with their champion. Both shared lives officers and champions had received training in safeguarding and knew how to report concerns.

Care documentation included risk assessments, which were reviewed to reflect people’s changing needs and circumstances. This ensured shared lives officers and champions had the necessary information to help lessen risks to people as well as ensure the environments they lived in were fit for purpose.

Medicines were managed safely. The service had effective systems in place to ensure peoples medicines had been administered and signed for consistently, with medication training provided to all champions.

People using the service were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and champions supported them in the least restrictive way possible. People were encouraged to make decisions and choices about their care and had their choices respected.

The service had a training matrix to monitor the training requirements of staff and champions, and had reviewed the way training was provided, to better meet the differing training needs of champions. Staff and champions received appropriate training, supervision and appraisal to support them in their role.

People using the service spoke positively about the care provided by their champions and the support received by the service to ensure their needs had been met. People and champions views and opinions were regularly sought, to ensure they were happy with the service and the programme of care in place.

Care documentation contained detailed, personalised information about the people who used the service and how they wished to be supported. People had been involved in choosing their champion.

The service had a complaints procedure in place and whilst people and champions told us they had no cause to complain, they knew how to do so, should they need to.

The provider had a range of systems and procedures in place to monitor the quality and effectiveness of the service. Action plans were drawn up, to ensure any issues had been addressed. Feedback was sought from people, relatives and staff and used to drive continued improvement.