21 December 2015
During a routine inspection
The inspection took place on 21 December 2015, and was an announced inspection. The manager was given 48 hours’ notice of the inspection as we needed to be sure that the office was open and staff would be available to speak with us.
Guideposts Shared Lives provides a service for adults who need support and who want to live as part of a family or household. It is an alternative to residential care for people who want to live or stay in a homely environment, but cannot manage on their own. It provides services for people with learning, physical or sensory disabilities, and people with mental health problems. The service provides long term placements and respite care. It is responsible for co-ordination between the people who use the service and the carers with whom people live.
Guideposts Shared Lives staff liaise with social workers, who oversee the processes and care management of the people who need support. The staff are responsible for recruiting carers who will provide the care and support that people need within the carers’ own families or households.
For the purposes of this report we will refer to those who provide support as ‘carers’. At the time of our inspection, the service had 63 carers, and was providing support to 37 people.
Our inspection process included the recruitment of carers to support people, how they were matched to people needing support, how well they were trained and supported themselves, and how people who were being supported felt about their placements.
The service had a registered manager in post. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People were safe and carers knew what actions to take to protect them from abuse. The provider had processes in place to identify and manage risk. People received care from carers who were well supported and trained. Carers understood the need to obtain consent when providing care.
People were supported with meals and to make choices about the food and drink they received. Carers supported people to maintain good health and access health services when needed.
Assessments had been carried out and personalised care plans were in place which reflected individual needs and preferences.
The provider had an effective complaints procedure and people had confidence that concerns would be investigated and addressed. The service benefitted from a clear management structure and visible leadership. A range of systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service being delivered and to drive improvement.