The Shared Lives Scheme

People who used the service told us they were happy. The registered manager provided support to find suitable placements for people to assist with their individual needs. Shared lives carers provide a family environment where people have developed lifelong relationships. People were supported to maintain their independence and to live as ordinary a life as any citizen. People were very much 'at home' in their placements and had warm, caring and respectful relationships with their carers.

The service provided mandatory training for shared lives carers, which included safeguarding, administration of medicines, basic life support and data protection. The service also required shared lives carers to complete the Care Certificate before any placements were agreed. The Care Certificate is a nationally recognised set of standards that introduces them to their roles and responsibilities within a care service.

The registered manager and shared lives carers understood the principles of the Mental

Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), and supported people in line with these principles. People who lacked capacity were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Policies and systems in The Shared Lives Scheme supported them in the least restrictive way possible.

People had good access to support from health care professionals and the shared lives carers were pro-active in recognising when interventions were required to ensure a person's wellbeing.

Appropriate assessment checks were carried out on all applications from people to become a shared lives carer. A minimum of three visits were completed by the registered manager to assess an applicant’s suitability to provide care and support, and to provide appropriate placements for people under the Shared Lives Scheme. This was then presented to a team within the East Riding of Yorkshire Council for a decision on the suitability of the applicants and agreed by the head of service.

Medicines were managed and administered safely. Records confirmed people had received their medicines as prescribed. Training records showed medication training for shared lives carers was completed annually and regular competency checks were completed by the registered manager.

The registered manager demonstrated a commitment to providing person-centred care for all people. People knew the registered manager and told us they trusted them. Shared lives carers felt the registered manager was supportive and approachable.

About the service: The Shared Lives Scheme is a scheme which recruits carers to provide care and support to people within their [carer’s] own home. The shared lives carers are self-employed and have a contract with The Shared Lives scheme within the East Riding of Yorkshire Council. The Shared Lives Scheme is a national service that supports adults with learning disabilities, mental health problems and other needs, which make it harder for them to live on their own. The shared lives carers were supported by the registered manager who is the only employed member of staff at this service. At the time of inspection, there were 21 registered families and 19 people being supported in long term arrangements.

The service had been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values included choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with a learning disability were supported to live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

Rating at last inspection: Good

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The service has retained its rating of good following this inspection.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

The Shared Lives Scheme (SLS) is provided by East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC). The scheme employs shared lives carers across the whole of the East Riding area. The SLS offers long term arrangements and short breaks for vulnerable adults, and once approved carers provide accommodation, care and support for adults within their (the carers) own homes. At the time of this inspection the SLS had 49 registered carers and 33 people were living with carers in their own homes.

The shared lives carers are self-employed and have a contract with the SLS. Carers are supported by an office based team of one registered manager and one assessment officer; they are responsible for matching people with carers and ensuring peoples support needs are met. The SLS specialises in looking after adults with learning and physical disabilities between the ages of 18 and 65.

People in placements with shared lives carers, told us they felt safe where they lived. Scheme staff and shared lives carers were trained in safeguarding and understood how to protect people from abuse. There were processes to minimise risks to people’s safety; these included procedures to manage identified risks with people’s care, robust approval of shared lives carers and safe recruitment of scheme staff.

The registered manager, scheme staff and shared lives carers understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), and supported people in line with these principles. There were enough scheme staff to monitor and support shared lives carers and people in placements. Scheme staff and shared lives carers were suitably trained to deliver effective care to people.

People were supported to make decisions and choices about their care and support needs. Their support plans reflected their specific needs and preferences for how they wished to be supported by their shared lives carer. This enabled them to retain as much control and independence over their lives as possible.

People were encouraged to eat and drink sufficient amounts. Shared lives carers monitored people’s general health and wellbeing and ensured that people took their medicines when required.

People told us their shared lives carers were kind and caring. Shared Lives carers felt that the people they cared for were family members and they showed a great deal of affection for people, involving them in their immediate and extended family. People were very much ‘at home’ in their placements and had warm, caring and respectful relationships with their carers. People’s rights to privacy and dignity were respected. People were encouraged to take part in activities at home or out in the community and to undertake voluntary and work based activities.

Scheme staff and shared lives carers were confident they could raise any concerns with the registered manager knowing they would be listened to and acted on.

Shared lives carers said scheme staff were open, approachable and supportive. There were processes to monitor the quality of the service provided and to understand the experiences of people who used the scheme. This was done through regular communication with shared lives carers, people in placements and scheme staff, along with regular monitoring visits, surveys and a programme of checks and audits.

Below is a summary of what we found. The summary is based on our observations during the inspection, speaking with people who used the service, the carers who supported them and from looking at records.

If you want to see the evidence supporting our summary please read the full report.

Is the service safe?

People told us they felt safe. Safeguarding procedures were robust and carers understood how to safeguard the people they supported.

People told us that they felt their rights to privacy and dignity were respected, they had access to choice and remained in control of decisions about their care and lives.

The service had proper policies and procedures in relation to the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards although no applications had needed to be submitted. The manager had been trained to understand when an application should be made, and in how to submit one. This meant people were safeguarded as required.

Is the service effective?

There was an advocacy service available if people needed it. This meant that when required people could access additional support.

People's health and care needs were assessed with them and they were involved in choosing their preferred carer for the shared lives placement. The service was flexible in that people were given the opportunity to meet different carers until they found one they liked and who could meet their needs.

Is the service caring?

People were supported by kind and attentive carers. We saw the carers showed patience and gave encouragement when supporting people. One person told us 'I have the best carers around. They look after us and everything is great.'

People living in the shared lives placements, carers and other stakeholders completed an annual satisfaction survey. Where shortfalls or concerns were raised these were addressed.

Is the service responsive?

We met with four carers in their own homes and spoke to another two carers on the telephone. We were told 'The manager is always available on the telephone or by e-mail.' Another said 'We have an annual review with the manager or assessment officer to see how we are getting on and to discuss any new placements or changes that are needed. However, if there is anything urgent then they will come out to see us.'

Four people told us about their friends and what it was like living in their shared lives placements. We heard that they enjoyed activities and time spent with their carer's families and often went out as a family group.

The service worked well with other agencies and services to make sure people received care in a planned and co-ordinated way.

Is the service well led?

The service had a quality assurance system, and records showed that identified problems and opportunities to change things for the better were addressed promptly. As a result the quality of the service was continually improving.