Shared Lives Scheme

Updated 23 June 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Shared Lives Scheme 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.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

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

Inspection activity started on 24 May 2022 and ended on 01 June 2022. We visited the location’s office on 24 May 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We sought feedback from partner agencies and professionals. We reviewed our on-going monitoring of the service such as information received through notifications. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke to five members of staff including the registered manager, shared lives officers and shared lives carers. We also spoke to one person who uses the service. We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and two medicine records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and specific training. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, quality assurance, maintenance and incidents/accidents, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

Updated 23 June 2022

About the service

Shared Lives Scheme is a service which supports carers to provide a home for people who are unable to or choose not to live on their own. They live as part of the carer's family. The service provides support to children, younger adults or older adults and people who are living with a learning disability, dementia, a mental health condition, sensory impairment or physical disability. At the time of our inspection there were six people using the service.

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.

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

We have made a recommendation for the provider to review best practice in relation to staff training. People experienced good continuity and consistency of care from staff who knew how to meet their needs as well as how they liked care to be provided. The provider recruited staff in accordance with regulations and ensured only staff suitable to support people living in their own home were appointed.

Medicine administration records (MAR) were accurate and up to date. People’s risks assessments were clearly written and easy to follow, providing staff with clear guidance for managing risks to people.

The provider was able to demonstrate their compliance with legal obligations and any learning from incidents or accidents were undertaken effectively.

The providers complaints procedure ensured complaints were managed effectively and to monitor the quality of the service. Annual appraisals took place, allowing staff to raise any concerns.

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.

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 the service at the previous premises was good, published on 25 August 2018.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Shared Lives Scheme on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.