1 March 2012
During a routine inspection
We spoke with five people who received a service and six Shared Lives Providers (who will be referred to within this report as carers). People told us that they were very happy with their homes and with the support they received from their carers. People said that they enjoyed a range of activities and felt like part of their carer's families. Everyone we spoke with told us that they were very satisfied with the care and support that they received. People told us that they felt involved and consulted in relation to how they lived their lives.
People told us that they were able to live independent lives and records showed how care was planned and risks assessed to enable people to do this safely.
Carers felt well supported to provide people with a happy family environment where people were encouraged and supported to live the lives they chose with the support that they required. Carers told us that they received good information and spoke positively about the matching process that enabled people to decide if the home identified would be the right one for them. The manager demonstrated that they could manage sensitive issues discreetly and gave examples of how people were empowered to express their wishes and preferences.
The manager showed us how they closely monitored the service provided and had developed creative ways of gathering people's views and experiences. When people had made suggestions for improvement or change the scheme showed us how they had listened and responded. As a result they had improved the quality of people's lives.
People told us that they received good support from the scheme manager and the three Shared Lives Workers (referred to throughout this report as workers). Carers said that workers visited them regularly and reviewed the care and support that people received and that they provided.
Scheme workers told us that they felt well trained and well supported to do their jobs.
The scheme was seen to be in the process of expanding to support older people. Paperwork and training was being developed and implemented to support this. This meant that carers would be knowledgeable and equipped to meet people's assessed needs.