About the service East Sussex Shared Lives Scheme is a shared lives scheme which provides people with long-term placements, short breaks and respite care, within shared lives carers (SLC) own homes. The service offered supported to people with learning disabilities, mental health support needs, as well as physical disabilities.
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 58 people were supported by the service who received the regulated activity of personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People continued to receive a level of care and support that enabled them to have independence and achieve their dreams and aspirations. This was possible due to the dedication of all those involved in the service at putting people at the heart of everything they did.
The values of the service were about providing the best possible outcomes for people and helping them to overcome hurdles that may have been prevalent their whole life. Staff training, their understanding of support networks available to people, and their ability of putting people at the centre of what was happening to them had resulted in many positive changes to people’s lives.
People who came to the service in crisis had been supported to take back control of their lives which had enabled them to re-join their local communities, return to education and achieve employment.
The ethos of continuous improvement and seeking feedback from people and staff were used by the registered manager to ensure the service was the best it could be.
The staff were proud of the work they did, and their best practice methodology was shared with other agencies to improve similar services across the country. Continual learning and development was at the forefront of how the service operated, and they sought out areas where an increase in staff knowledge and understanding could improve the lives of people.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence. The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.
People said they felt safe, and that shared lives carers took the time to get to know them and treated them with kindness and compassion.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was outstanding (published 30 March 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.