A care service in the London borough of Newham has been given an Outstanding overall rating by the Care Quality Commission.
Newham Shared Lives Scheme was rated Outstanding for being effective and well-led. It was rated Good for being safe, caring and responsive.
Based in The Grove, Stratford, the scheme facilitates arrangements between people with support needs and shared lives carers, who accommodate people in their own homes.
CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'. This means help with tasks relating to personal hygiene and eating.
The provider had an innovative, person centred and holistic approach to assessing people's needs. People said they were involved in having their needs assessed before they moved into shared lives arrangements. One person said: "It [shared lives arrangement] has changed my life. I was struggling so much before. I met with a shared lives officer and my social worker and talked about what I wanted. I'm getting better and better each day."
Shared lives carers said comprehensive assessments had led to care plans that enabled them to meet people's needs. One shared lives carer explained: "We had full information about a person before the arrangement started. That was only part of it though. We took about a year to get to know each other first. They called it the matching, and it meant we were sure, on both sides, that it was a good move."
People said they knew about their shared lives carers before deciding to live with them. One person said: "We met and I got to choose if I liked them."
The provider's approach to matching people and shared lives carers was personalised and thorough. Records showed they considered the skills required by shared lives carers and drew up a shortlist for people to consider.
People told us their shared lives carers helped them to attend health appointments and manage their healthcare conditions. One person said: "They help me with the hospital. I have a lot of appointments and they help me keep track."
Newham Shared Lives is very well-led. The service had become an independent not for profit company during the year prior to our last inspection in July 2017. The company board consisted of representatives of the local authority, a staff representative, a shared lives carer and other people with relevant business experience.
Board meeting minutes showed the registered manager promoted the experience of people and shared lives carers to the board and ensured a person centred approach to service development which was unique.
For example, the registered manager had proposed and championed changing the articles of the company to allow a bonus payment and pay rise for shared lives carers. She was also developing a ‘people’s group’ to enable people who lived in shared lives arrangements to have a meaningful role on the board. A commitment to equality shone through.
The service had taken a user-led approach to developing and refining the values and goals of the organisation. The four main priorities had been agreed in 2017 to be building the business, person centeredness, delivering excellence and being innovative. These four priorities formed the basis of each staff member's appraisal and development plan.
Shared lives officers completed regular home visits where they checked the quality of support and records in place within the shared lives arrangements. People said they could tell shared lives officers if they had any concerns.
Debbie Ivanova, CQC’s Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, said:
“It is always pleasing to see a high quality of care provided to people. I commend the leadership team and all the staff at Newham Shared Lives Scheme for their hard work and dedication.”
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I commend the leadership team and all the staff at Newham Shared Lives Scheme for their hard work and dedication.
Debbie Ivanova, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care