Royal Greenwich Shared Lives

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way which focused on people’s individual needs and wishes. People were encouraged to be independent and supported to help achieve their goals and aspirations by staff who knew them well. People were treated with kindness and respect.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We did not look at Kindness, compassion and dignity during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

We did not look at Treating people as individuals during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

People and their relatives spoke positively about the care they received and the positive caring relationships they experienced. A person told us, “[Carer] is friendly and caring, I wouldn’t change anything in the world.” A relative told us, “The carer seems to have the right approach, shows interest in what [person] is interested in. [Person] gets on really well with their [carers] partner, who provides a male figure in their life.” People were encouraged to be as independent as possible, make day to day decisions about their lives and supported with learning daily living skills such as cooking and gardening. A person told us, “I am independent and go out alone. The [carer] buys my food and gets what I want. I cook it when I want and how I like it.” People were supported to follow and take part in their interests, maintain links with the wider community and relationships that were important to them to promote and support their independence, health and wellbeing including holidays and employment opportunities. An advocate told us, “Shared Lives have been amazing and hugely supportive. They have enabled [person] to live in the community, giving them every opportunity.” A relative told us, “All [person’s] carers have helped [person] to keep in touch with me. They have been very welcoming when I visit.”

There was a shared commitment to the culture and values of the service. The service showed an understanding and commitment in providing person centred care and helping people to identify their goals. Staff were familiar and supported people with their wishes, capabilities and their preferred way of being supported. The service was committed to ensuring that people received person-centred care and promoting people’s choice and control of their lives which staff had received recognition for. One carer was nominated for the highly commended outstanding carer of the year award in 2021 at their National shared lives conference. The service won the highly commended award 2021 for Pandemic Life Line celebrating the resilient service delivered during COVID. A carer was acknowledged for their work by Shared Lives Plus, a membership charity that works with shared lives services and was also invited to the late Queens Royal Garden Party in 2022. Another carer was invited to a reception for Adult Social Care Workers at Downing Street in 2023 which was held to recognise the contribution of care workers and the role of social care in society.

The service provided people with personalised care according to their specific needs and wishes. Information included how people communicated and how others should communicate with them. Information was available in a pictorial format for people who required this. The service also used various methods where needed to ensure people were able to express and exercise their personal choice with their care such as objects of reference, signing and/or gestures and Makaton. To avoid social exclusion, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the service distributed electronic tablets to facilitate better access for people and staff to digital resources. People and staff were encouraged to meet online to support each other and kept connected through virtual tea breaks, sharing information, virtual quizzes, sing alongs and activities to encourage health, safety and fun. We saw photographs of people and staff engaged in and enjoying various activities together during the pandemic. People participated in the planning and reviews of their care and support being provided by the service which would involve staff, relatives and other healthcare professionals. People’s needs were regularly monitored and reviewed. When a person’s needs changed, the service worked closely with healthcare professionals to ensure measures were put in place if additional support was required. Two healthcare professionals we received feedback from told us the staff went ‘above and beyond’ their duties to accommodate for the needs of people they supported.

We did not look at Responding to people’s immediate needs during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

We did not look at Workforce wellbeing and enablement during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.