Archived: Huntingdon Shared Lives Scheme

This inspection was announced and took place on 5 May 2016. There was a registered manager in place at the time of this inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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 approved carers and scheme coordinators knew what action to take to ensure that people were protected if they suspected they were at risk of harm. There were sufficient numbers of approved carers to provide care and support to meet people’s needs.

Recruitment procedures ensured that only suitable people were employed to work with people using the service. Risks to people’s health, wellbeing and safety had been assessed and actions had been taken to reduce any identified risks. Arrangements were in place to ensure that people were supported and protected with the safe management of their medicines.

The CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and to report on what we find. The provider was acting in accordance with the requirements of the MCA and they demonstrated how they supported people to make decisions about their care. The registered manager liaised with the commissioners to enable them to make applications to the Court of Protections for formal arrangements to be put in place when needed. Approved carers and coordinators had received training on the MCA and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

People were supported by approved carers with their nutritional needs when required. Approved carers were trained to provide effective and safe care which met people’s individual needs and wishes. Approved carers were supported by the registered manager and scheme coordinators to maintain and develop their skills and knowledge through ongoing support and regular training.

The registered manager and the coordinators were in contact with a range of care professionals to ensure that care and support to people was well coordinated and appropriate.

People’s privacy and dignity were respected and their care and support was provided in a caring and patient way.

People received support and care that was based on their personal needs and wishes. Changes in people’s needs were quickly identified and their care plans were amended when required. The service was flexible and responded very positively to people’s requests. People who used the service felt able to make requests and express their opinions and views.

A complaints procedure was in place and complaints had been responded to, to the satisfaction of the complainant. People felt able to raise concerns with the registered manager and coordinators at any time.

The provider had effective quality assurance processes and procedures in place to monitor the quality and safety of people’s care. People and their relatives were able to make suggestions in relation to the support and care provided.

Is the service caring?

People told us that they received consistent and respectful support from carers and felt able to make choices and changes when required. Carers told us that they were well supported and supervised by the scheme so that they could provide safe care and support to people.

Is the service responsive?

We saw that people's personal care and social support needs were assessed and met. This also included people's individual choices and preferences as to how they liked to be supported. People we spoke with told us that they could make changes to their support and had been involved in reviews of their support. It was noted that changes to documentation were being made to more accurately reflect the support being provided by outreach carers.

Is the service safe?

Risk assessments regarding people's individual activities were carried out and measures were in place to minimise these. Carers understood their roles and responsibilities in making sure people were protected from the risk of abuse. The provider was taking appropriate action to ensure that all carers were kept up to date with safeguarding training.

Is the service effective?

We found that carers were knowledgeable about people's individual care and support needs. People using the service that we spoke with, and two relatives, confirmed that their carers provided consistent support both in their own home and when accessing facilities in the wider community. The manager confirmed that support documentation was being audited to ensure it met people's assessed needs.

Is the service well led?

Carers that we spoke with told us that they felt well supported and trained to safely provide care and support. People using the service and their relatives that we spoke with told us that they felt they were listened to and support was consistently and safely provided. Quality assurance systems were being improved to gather opinions from a variety of healthcare professionals, carers and people using the service to ensure that ongoing improvements could be made.

We looked at six files of people who used the service, four staff files; spoke with people who used the service and their relatives and staff.

Staff understood the needs of the people they supported and were very positive about the support that was available to staff so that they could provide a good service. One member of staff said the job was, 'Brilliant'.