3 August 2022
During a routine inspection
About the service
Shared Lives Cumbria is a shared lives scheme which provides people with long-term placements, short breaks, day support and respite care, within shared lives carers’ own homes. The service provides support to people who have a learning disability, autistic people, people who have mental health needs, people who have sensory impairment, older adults and people living with dementia.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection 15 people received support with their personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support:
The service supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence and they had control over their own lives. Shared lives carers had completed training to ensure they understood the ethos of the service and to give people choices about their lives and care. People were supported by their shared lives carers to pursue their interests and to achieve their aspirations and goals.
People had fulfilling and meaningful lives because support focused on their strengths and promoted what they could do. Relatives and shared lives carers told us people had gained skills and independence. One shared lives carer told us, “[Person] has moved on now to live independently in the community. We still keep in touch though.”
Shared lives workers and carers supported people to access health and social care support in the community as they needed. People received the support they needed to take their medicines. Shared lives carers supported people with their medicines safely and in a way that promoted their independence.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and their shared lives carers supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Right Care:
People received kind and compassionate care from their shared lives carers. Shared lives carers protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They spoke about people with respect and were proud of the skills they had gained. One shared lives carer told us, “I am learning more from [people supported] than they are learning from me.” The shared lives carers understood and responded to people’s individual needs.
Shared lives carers understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. They had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. Shared lives carers reported any concerns to the shared lives workers. Shared lives workers worked well with other agencies to protect people.
The service had enough appropriately skilled shared lives carers to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. People who had individual ways of communicating, using body language, sounds, and pictures and symbols could interact comfortably with their shared lives carers because they had the necessary skills to understand people.
People’s care and support plans reflected their range of needs and promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life. Shared lives carers understood and responded to people’s individual needs. Where appropriate, they encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.
Right Culture:
People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the service management and shared lives workers. One relative told us, “It is a safe, welcoming and inclusive atmosphere.” Another relative said, “It’s such a nice and good service.”
People were supported by shared lives carers and workers who understood best practice in relation to the wide range of strengths, impairments or sensitivities people may have. This meant people received compassionate and empowering care that was tailored to their needs. Shared lives carers and workers knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing. They placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. One relative told us, “We have all found them supportive, not just for [relative] but for us all in her family.”
The management team, shared lives workers and carers ensured risks of a closed culture were minimised so that people received support based on transparency, respect and inclusivity. They treated people and their families with respect. One relative told us, “They base everything on what we want and need rather than telling us how it’s going to be, they include our ideas and wants.” Relatives and shared lives carers felt well supported by the shared lives workers. They told us they could raise any concerns and action was taken. People valued the service and told us they would recommend it.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 2 July 2021 and this is the first inspection.
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.