We carried out a review of the data available to us about Lewisham Shared Lives Scheme on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Lewisham Shared Lives Scheme, you can give feedback on this service.
About the service
Lewisham Shared Lives Scheme is a shared lives scheme which provides people with long-term placements, short breaks and respite care, within the shared lives carers (SLC) own homes. It provides a service to people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of the inspection 27 people were using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support: People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and carers supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Carers supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. Carers communicated with people in ways that met their needs.
Right Care: People could communicate with carers and understand information given to them because carers supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs. People received kind and compassionate care. Carers protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs.
Right Culture: People were kept safe from avoidable harm because carers knew them well and understood how to protect them from abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so.
People could take part in activities and pursue interests that were tailored to them. The service gave people opportunities to try new activities that enhanced and enriched their lives .
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
The provider had a robust system in place to ensure suitable people were placed with suitable carers. Decisions were made by a panel of health care professionals to give the best opportunity of suitable and successful placements of people.
The provider had a range of quality assurance audits and checks to ensure there were no issues with placements. There was regular contact with people to ensure support needs were continually met. Where there were issues, these could be quickly addressed.
People spoke positively about the service and relatives felt that their family members were well cared for. One relative said, “I’m happy [family member] is there, I think it is good for [family member] so far, it’s going well. [Family member] looks better, feels better and I know [family member] is happy.”
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 29 January 2018).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
Shared Lives schemes can offer personal care and support which is a day service, an overnight service, temporary or permanent. At the time of the inspection Lewisham Shared Lives was primarily involved in supporting people with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder who were settled in long-term placements. The provider is responsible for appointing, training, monitoring and supporting local carers who are self-employed and receive a payment for providing people with personal care, accommodation and other assistance. A total of 18 carers had been appointed and some carers had been approved to care for more than one person.
This was the first inspection of this service since it registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 15 September 2015. The provider was given two days’ notice of our intention to conduct the inspection, as we wished to ensure that key staff were available to contribute to the inspection.
Lewisham Shared Lives is managed by a registered manager who is supported by one full-time coordinator, and an assessor who conducts assessments for new carers as required. 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 Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager and the coordinator were present on both days of the inspection.
Carers understood how to protect people from the risk of abuse and harm. They had received safeguarding training and were aware of how to report any concerns about people’s safety and welfare to the coordinator or registered manager. Carers were provided with guidance about how to support people to safely receive their prescribed medicines.
Systems were in place to assess and monitor any risks to people’s safety. Written guidance was in place to advise carers about how to mitigate identified risks whilst supporting people to make choices and maintain their independence, where possible.
Robust recruitment practices were in place to make sure that people who use the service were supported by carers with appropriate knowledge and skills, and a clear commitment to the principles of Shared Lives. Following an assessment process by the provider, the applications from prospective carers were presented for approval to an independent panel. People were placed with carers after the successful completion of a detailed ‘matching’ process, which included different opportunities to spend time together and reflect on whether both parties wished to proceed with a placement.
Carers were provided with a range of support to assist them to undertake the requirements of their role; this included training sessions, visits at home and telephone advice from the coordinator, and regular group meetings with other carers.
The registered manager and the coordinator understood their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Assessments of people’s capacity to make specific decisions were carried out when necessary and carers recognised the importance of supporting people to make day to day decisions about their lives and receive their care and support in the least restrictive manner achievable. The coordinator monitored that carers acted in people’s best interests in line with legislation.
People’s care plans showed that they were supported to meet their nutritional needs and individual preferences, and receive food and drinks that reflected their cultural needs, where applicable. Written information was provided for carers about people’s health care needs. The documentation recorded by carers demonstrated that people were supported to attend health care appointments and follow guidance issued by health care professionals.
Due to their disability and/or health care needs, people were not able to speak with us in a detailed way when we telephoned. The people we spoke with confirmed they were happy living with their carers, liked the homely environment and mentioned some of the activities they enjoyed with their carers, which included holidays in the UK and abroad, shopping trips, outings to the cinema and theatre, and exercising at the gym. Relatives informed us that their family members now spoke of having two homes and they were pleased to observe how their family members had developed new skills and confidence since moving into their placements.
Each person using the service had a care and support plan, which was reviewed annually or more frequently if necessary. The care and support plans identified people’s needs, wishes and aspirations. Relatives and carers told us that the coordinator had established an excellent rapport with people who use the service, which enabled people to feel relaxed during their review meetings and other occasions when they were asked for their opinions about the quality of their care and support.
The provider had given written information to people who use the service, their relatives and the shared lives carers about how to make a complaint. The coordinator ensured that he regularly met with people who use the service in order to identify any possible concerns, particularly as some people might experience initial difficulties with verbally expressing if they had a complaint.
The registered manager and coordinator were experienced in the management and day to day running of shared lives schemes. We received positive comments about their commitment to the service and the cooperative approach of the coordinator, who carers described as always being available to offer helpful advice and support. There were formal systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. For example, people who use the service and their shared lives carers were asked for their views through surveys and questionnaires and their feedback was used to develop the service.