Certitude London Shared Lives

Updated 30 June 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 took place on 14 May 2018. The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an expert-by-experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses a domiciliary care service.

Before the inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included notifications sent to us by the provider and other information we held on our database about the service such as the Provider Information Return (PIR). Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. A PIR is a form that requires providers to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used this information to plan the inspection.

We reviewed a range of documents and records including; five care records for people who used the service, staff records, as well as complaints and compliments records and policies and procedures kept by the service.

During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager and a care coordinator, one shared lives carer and two people using the service. After the inspection, an expert-by-experience spoke with six shared lives carers and one person using the service.

We also contacted three health and social care professionals to gather their views of the service and heard back from two of them.

Updated 30 June 2018

We inspected Wandsworth Adult Placement Service on 14 May 2018. This was an announced inspection. This is because the location provides a shared lives care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection, we found the service remained Good.

Wandsworth Adult Placement Service, known as Shared Lives, provides personal care and accommodation for people of all ages with learning disabilities. People who use the service can access short term, long term and respite care within the family home. They primarily support people with learning disabilities and some have additional needs such as sensory impairments. At the time of the inspection, there were 40 people using the service across the London Boroughs of Wandsworth, Richmond and Hounslow. Not everyone using Wandsworth Adult Placement 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.

There was a registered manager at the service. 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.

People using the service were highly satisfied with the service and the support they received from their carers. They told us they felt safe living in their carer’s homes. People received appropriate support in relation to their medicines, their health and their dietary requirements.

Care records included how people could be supported to have choice and control. They also included how people made decisions and who to consult if people were unable to make certain decisions. People lived fulfilling, independent lives.

Care plans were person centred and focussed on people as individuals. People's quality of life was considered when developing care plans and how people’s lives could be improved.

Care plans included a one-page profile of the person and their family history. This information was used when finding placements. There was a thorough matching process in place, where time was taken for the person and their potential carer to establish a good relationship before the support was agreed.

Carers told us they had a very close relationship with the people they supported and did not distinguish between them and their own family. The service supported people to develop and maintain relationships that were important to them, whether this was with their carers, families or friends.

Carers and care co-ordinators advocated strongly for people, especially when people did not always get the right support. The provider worked in collaboration with stakeholders to ensure people received the right support.

Care co-ordinators told us they felt well supported and received adequate training which helped them to carry out their roles effectively.

People and their carers were well-informed about what the organisation did, and the structure of the organisation. People were unanimous in their praise of the care co-ordinators.

There was evidence that learning from concerns and incidents was a key contributor to continuous improvement. The provider was proactive in investigating incidents and complaints and used them as a learning opportunity to drive improvements.