About the service: London Borough of Bexley (Shared Lives) is a Shared Lives Service that recruits, trains and supports self-employed Shared Lives Carers(SLCs) who provide placements and respite care for vulnerable adults within their own family homes in the community. The service supports people with learning disabilities and or autism.

Not everyone using this shared lives service receives a regulated activity. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'. This includes help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. In these circumstances we also take into account any wider social care provided. At this inspection there were 18 people using the service who received personal care.

People’s experience of using this service:

¿People received person-centred care that met their needs, encouraged them to learn new skills and increased their confidence, It helped them to achieve their goals and be active in the local community, where this was their choice.

¿ People's privacy, dignity and independence was promoted. SLCs and scheme staff understood the Equality Act and supported people’s diverse needs.

¿The service applied the values and principles of CQC guidance Registering the Right Support (RRS) and other best practice guidance; as people were enabled to make choices about their lives and were supported to be as independent as possible. These principles 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.

¿People told us they felt safe. Staff and SLC knew how to recognise signs of abuse or harm and what action they needed to take to keep people safe.

¿ Robust recruitment and assessment checks were completed before SLCs were approved to join the scheme. People were matched to suitable SLCs who fully involved them in their home and family life as much as people chose. There were enough staff and SLC to run the scheme.

¿ SLCs told us they were very well supported by the scheme and they received suitable training to meet the needs of people using the service. Dedicated training was provided to meet people’s individual health needs.

¿ People's needs were assessed before they joined the scheme and where risks were identified, there were plans in place to manage these safely.

¿ Medicines were safely managed. SLCs knew how to reduce any infection risks for people.

¿ People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services. SLCs worked with health professionals to meet people’s needs.

¿ People were encouraged to eat healthily and to develop skills in food preparation.

¿ People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

¿ There was a registered manager and people, SLCs and staff spoke positively about the way they ran the service.

¿ There were effective systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service provided.

¿ Feedback from people, SLCs and families was requested and acted on.

¿ The service worked with other organisations and professionals to plan and deliver an effective service.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 23 August 2016)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. We found the service continued to meet the characteristics of Good in all areas.

Follow up: We will continue to review information we receive about the service until we return to visit as part of our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

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

This inspection took place on 20 July 2016. This was an announced inspection and the provider was given 48 hours’ notice. This was to ensure that someone would be available at the office to provide us with the necessary information to carry out an inspection. This was the first inspection for this location.

London Borough of Bexley Community Living and Support Scheme is a community based adult’s shared lives and supported living service. They recruit, train and support carers who provide placements for adults within their own family homes in the community and currently offer support to two people within their own home There were twenty three people using the service at the time of the inspection. Most people using the service had a learning disability.

The service had a registered manager in place at the time of the inspection. 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Carers and shared lives staff understood and were able to explain the different types of abuse, how to recognise abuse as well as the processes to follow if abuse was suspected. Staff and carers had received training in safeguarding adults.

We saw that risk was managed effectively. Comprehensive risk assessments were in place for people that included steps to take to minimise any risks identified. Risk assessments were personalised and were individual to the person. People were encouraged to take positive risks.

Medicines were managed safely and effectively and there were regular audits that took place during review meetings.

People were supported with sufficient staff with the right skills and knowledge to meet their individual needs and promote person centred care. Contingency plans were in place for people if the carer was on holiday or they needed a break.

People were actively involved in making decisions about their care and their preferences were supported. We saw that people had independent advocates that visited them regularly and assisted them in ensuring their voices were heard and decision making.

Care plans were person centred and reflected what was important to the person. Care needs were regularly reviewed and updated to meet the changing needs of people who use the service.

We saw evidence of a comprehensive staff induction and on-going training programme. Staff were also safely recruited with necessary pre-employment checks carried out. Staff had regular supervisions and annual appraisals.

All staff had received training on the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and staff understood what to do if they had concerns as regards people’s mental capacity. These safeguards are there to make sure that people are receiving support and are looked after in a way that does not inappropriately restrict their freedom.

Staff regularly met with people and their carers to ensure the service was meeting their needs and they were providing a good service.

People’s care records showed relevant health and social care professionals were involved with people’s care and arrangements were in place for them to have regular visits to the GP, dentist and opticians.

The service used the local authority complaints policy and no complaints had been logged in the past 12 months. We saw that systems were in place to address complaints appropriately and as well as using any outcomes as an opportunity for learning or improvement.

The service was well run and had a positive open culture. The registered manager had a good relationship with the health and social care teams and other agencies and called upon them for assistance as and when required.

Quality assurance systems were in place to monitor the quality of service being delivered. We saw surveys produced in an accessible for