Shared Lives

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. This is the first assessment for this service. This key question has been rated Good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. People spoke highly of the care they received and told us both shared lives worker and their shared lives carer were always kind and caring. Comments included, “They [staff] are kind and respectful.” Shared lives carer feedback demonstrated a clear understanding of the importance of providing dignified care. They provided dignified care maintaining people’s privacy and explained how it was important to provide care in a respectful and sensitive manner. One shared lives carer said, “I care for people respectfully and am considerate to their needs.”

Staff also explained how they supported each other to ensure their wellbeing, they had good communication within the team and would accommodate any requests for support. One shared lives carer said, “There is a smooth flow of important information between staff and management, we support each other and I communicate with others respectfully.”

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. Peoples support plans took into account their strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. The staff team knew people well and understood and respected their interests, culture, preferences, likes and dislikes.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. People told us their carer enabled them to remain as independent as they could and follow their own preferred routine with the support of their carer. People with the ability would arrange their own social schedules and activities and shared lives carers would support them to get there safely. A shared lives carer told us staff had worked with them very closely “To ensure [Name] could continue their usual social routine and attend the activities they enjoyed safely.’

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff respond to people's needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. A system was in place to report any changes in people’s conditions and for advice during emergencies. Shared Lives workers provided telephone support during office hours. Outside office hours, carers could contact Nottingham Health and Social Care Point for urgent support.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of the shared lives carers and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. There were systems in place to support staff which included supervisions, annual appraisals, surveys, meetings and regular checks on staff and shared lives carers. The registered manager also evidenced attempts to host more informal ‘coffee morning’ meetings for shared lives carers to help build a sense of community, however very few chose to attend these. Staff worked well as a team and told us they felt listened to and valued by the services registered manager and the management team. A staff member said, “The management are most supportive and will make adjustments to ensure you’re rested and happy with your work life.”