Archived: Portsmouth Shared Lives Service

Updated 17 February 2015

We visited Portsmouth Shared Lives service on the 6 August 2014. The inspection team consisted of an inspector and an expert by experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We looked at notifications received by the provider and spoke with the Local Authority safeguarding team to obtain their views on the service and the quality of care people received. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law.

On the day of the inspection we spoke with seven people who used the service, eight relatives and four shared lives carers. We also spoke with four shared lives officers, and the service manager. The registered manager was not available on the day of the inspection due to annual leave. We spent time looking at four people’s care records and other records relating to the management of the service, such as, risk assessments, training records, recruitment records, safeguarding and incident reports, complaints, questionnaires and policies.

The last inspection of this service was in January 2014 where no concerns were identified.

This report was written during the testing phase of our new approach to regulating adult social care services. After this testing phase, inspection of consent to care and treatment, restraint, and practice under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) was moved from the key question ‘Is the service safe?’ to ‘Is the service effective?’

The ratings for this location were awarded in October 2014. They can be directly compared with any other service we have rated since then, including in relation to consent, restraint, and the MCA under the ‘Effective’ section. Our written findings in relation to these topics, however, can be read in the ‘Is the service safe’ sections of this report.

Updated 17 February 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by CQC which looks at the overall quality of the Service.

48 hours notice of the inspection was given to ensure that the people we needed to speak to were available.

Portsmouth Shared Lives service is a service provided by Portsmouth City Council (PCC) for adults who need help because of a physical or learning disability, or due to a mental health condition. The service provides people with accommodation in the homes of families and individuals, who are known as shared lives carers, for long stays, short stays or day support, and they share their shared lives carers family and community life. Shared lives carers can provide help with tasks, for example personal care, preparing meals, helping to manage money, or supporting trips out into the community. Shared lives carers are supported by shared lives officers who work for PCC to ensure people are safe and receive consistent and personalised support that meets their needs. At the time of our inspection there were 50 people using the service, 40 shared lives carers and four shared lives officers.

Portsmouth Shared Lives service had a registered manager in post that was responsible for the day to day running of the service. 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 Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us the service was safe and relatives confirmed they felt their relatives were safe using the shared lives service. Shared lives officers and carers showed an understanding of how they could keep people safe. People told us they were encouraged to raise concerns about their safety. Shared lives officers and carers understood how to recognise and respond to suspected abuse and understood their responsibility to report any concerns regarding the safety and wellbeing of people. Shared lives officers and carers understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and put them into practice.

People could make decisions about the care they received, and risk assessments were in place to support people to have a choice in how they were supported to meet their needs. There were safe recruitment practices because appropriate pre-employment checks were completed by PCC and shared lives officers prior to shared lives carers being accepted into the service.

People were supported by shared lives officers and carers who had the necessary skills and knowledge to meet their assessed needs. One relative said “They are skilled enough to care for [relative].” Shared lives officers and carers were supported in their role and had regular supervisions with their manager or shared lives officer. People were involved in choosing the shared lives carer they wanted to live with and were involved in decisions about their nutrition and hydration needs. People were supported to receive healthcare services.

Shared lives officers and carers involved and treated people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. People were listened to, felt they mattered and spoke positively of their experience with feeling involved in their care. People’s dignity was respected and they had privacy when they wanted. One relative said they were “well respected and well protected.”

People’s needs were regularly assessed by the shared lives officers and their records updated. People and their shared lives carers were involved in the assessment of their needs. Reviews took place regularly and people were involved in the reviews. Care plans were personalised and people had signed to indicate they had been involved in putting their plan of care together. People had access to activities or employment opportunities that were important to them. People knew how to make a complaint and complaints had been received and dealt with by shared lives officers and responded to in good time.

There was a clear management structure at the service. Shared lives officers were supported by a registered manager and were aware of the roles of the management team. People told us the service was well managed. People and shared lives carers confirmed they understood their right to share any concerns with the shared lives officers about the care and support provided. Incidents were recorded by shared lives officers and this information was used to monitor, investigate and take the appropriate action to reduce the risk of them happening again. Feedback was sought by shared lives officers from shared lives carers and people through a questionnaire and this feedback was used to make changes and improvements to the service.