PSS Shared Lives Staffordshire

Updated 4 May 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was completed by one adult social care 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.

Service and service type:

PSS Shared Lives Staffordshire and Wolverhampton is a 'shared lives' service providing personal care to adults who are living with learning, physical or sensory disabilities and/or people with mental health conditions.

The service had a manager registered with The Care Quality Commission (CQC). This means that they and the registered provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit. This is because it is a small service and the registered manager is often out of the office supporting staff. We needed to be sure that they would be in the office when we visited.

What we did:

Before our inspection we looked at information we held about the service. The registered provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR) form. A PIR is a form we ask registered providers to submit annually, detailing what the service does well and what improvements they plan to make. We reviewed information stored on our database, such as statutory notifications that the registered manager is required, by law, to submit to us as and when incidents had occurred. We used all this information to formulate a planning tool; this helped us to identify key areas we needed to focus on during the inspection.

During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager, one team manager and four members of staff. We also spoke to the local authority and commissioning team to gain feedback about the service. We contacted two relatives and three shared lives carers who agreed to provide feedback about the quality and safety of care being provided.

We also checked four care records of people in receipt of support, recruitment records of four members of staff and other records relating to the overall management and quality monitoring of the service.

Updated 4 May 2019

About the Service:

PSS (Person Shaped Support) Shared Lives Staffordshire and Wolverhampton is a 'shared lives' service providing personal care to adults who are living with learning, physical or sensory disabilities and/or people with mental health conditions. The service provides long term placements, short term placements and respite care by ‘matching’ people to shared lives ‘carers’ who can offer accommodation and support. At the time of the inspection 21 people were receiving support from PSS Shared Lives Staffordshire and Wolverhampton.

The support that is offered is an alternative to residential care; it provides people with the opportunity to live as independently as possible. Shared lives carers provide care and support in their own homes to people they are ‘matched’ with.

Shared lives carers are self-employed; however, PSS Shared Lives Staffordshire and Wolverhampton ensure all carers are safely recruited and supported in the provision of delivering care and support that people require.

People’s experience of using this service:

People’s support plans and risk assessments were established from the outset.

Safe measures were put in place to ensure people received the required level of support needed. Risk assessments were reviewed on an annual basis or when any changes to support needs were identified.

Shared lives carers were safely recruited; people were ‘matched’ with shared lives carer who had undergone the appropriate recruitment checks and were deemed suitable to support vulnerable adults.

People were protected from the risk of avoidable harm and abuse. There was an up to date safeguarding and whistleblowing policy in place and all shared lives carers were provided with safeguarding training. The registered manager maintained a good level of oversight in relation to all safeguarding incidents that occurred.

Safe medication practices were in place. People received support with their medication from shared lives carers who had completed the appropriate medication training and regularly had their competency levels checked.

Principles of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) were complied with. Where possible, people provided their consent to receive care and support and encouraged to make decisions around the level of care they required.

People’s hydration and nutrition support needs were effectively managed; care records contained information in relation to any dietary requirements and the level of support people needed.

Relatives confirmed that their loved ones received kind, sincere and compassionate care and shared lives carers were familiar with the tailored level of support that was required.

We received positive feedback about the quality and safety of care people received. Relatives and shared lives carers confirmed that people received high-quality, person-centred care.

High-quality, person-centred approach to care was evident. Care records contained detailed information about people’s likes, preferences and wishes.

People were encouraged and supported to participate in different activities; hobbies and interest were established from outset and shared lives carers helped people to engage in social activities they enjoyed.

The registered provider had a complaints process in place. Complaints were responded to and managed in line with organisational policy.

The registered manager ensured that the quality and safety of the care was continuously monitored and reviewed. People received safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care.

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection service was rated ‘Good’ (report published September 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned, announced inspection to confirm that the service remained 'good'.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk