Shared Lives

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture. This is the first assessment for this service. This key question has been rated Good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 71 (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 had a very clear shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and an exceptional understanding of the challenges and the needs of people and their communities.People’s quality of life was significantly improved through a culture of continuous improvement and inclusion.

The registered manager and provider demonstrated compassion and created a supportive environment where staff and people were confident to share their views. People, shared lives carers and their relatives spoke highly of the service and its leadership and described the care as, “Respectful kind, and excellent.” People were encouraged to achieve meaningful outcomes, to prevent loneliness and isolation. Special occasions were acknowledged, for example, people’s birthdays were celebrated.

The provider had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

The provider and management team were motivated and enthusiastic and were constantly looking for areas they could improve and develop. Staff spoke highly of the management team and felt valued and respected. A staff member said, “The manager provides us with good support whenever it is needed.”

The management team valued the staff and looked at ways to improve their wellbeing. The provider also acknowledged birthdays and all staff received a card and well wishes on their birthday. This made staff feel like valued members of the team where their contributions mattered.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people knew they could speak up and their voice would be heard.There were policies and procedures in place to support staff to speak up if they had concerns about care and support.There was regular engagement with people and their relatives, and they felt listened to.

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them.Staff were supported fairly and there were policies in place to ensure equality, diversity and inclusion was promoted in the workplace. Staff said protected characteristics were considered and reasonable adjustments were made where required. Staff felt valued and included.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate. The provider had governance systems in place and continuous audits to improve systems to ensure positive outcomes for people and staff.

The registered manager did share short comings in the management of training compliance with shared lives carers. The registered manager evidenced that they had shared the training requirements with shared lives carers and sent frequent reminders regarding the requirement to complete training. Therefore, not all carers were fully compliant with mandatory training. All staff directly employed by shared lives, social workers, community care officers and the registered manager were fully compliant in all training areas.

Good practice and learning were shared and the provider collaborated and worked with partners, commissioners and health care professionals. The provider promoted a culture of being able to speak up and be listened to.

Processes were in place to record any complaints accidents or incidents and that appropriate notifications and referrals were made to other agencies.

Views were sought from people who used the service and from their relatives. A quality satisfaction survey was sent out to give opportunity for relatives to be involved. This helped staff and leaders improve how the service was run and presented.

Regular staff meetings were held and staff received regular supervision and appraisals where they could speak in confidence.

The provider understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement. The registered manager worked with social care and health care professionals to improve the service provided to people and to ensure a consistent service was received. One health care professional said, “I found the service responsive to my requests for support for a complex case.”

Where people had contacts with health professionals, the recommendations for care and the outcomes were included in support plans to ensure people’s care needs were being met consistently.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. They actively contributed to safe, effective practice and research.

The registered manager ensured that continuous learning was a central focus for both themselves and all staff employed by shared lives Nottingham. Weekly meetings were hosted with the manager and all staff to reflect on any learning points from the previous week and create plans of action to push improvement moving forward. A social worker employed by the service told us “I feel very supported in regard to my career progression and development working here, any extra training I wish to complete, the manager facilitates this for me”.