This inspection took place on the 28 February and 1 March 2017 and was announced.

Shared Lives is a service provided by Portsmouth City Council that recruits and supports individuals, couples or families to provide family-based accommodation and personal care to vulnerable adults. The emphasis is on providing an ordinary family life within the community. The Shared Lives office is located in Portsmouth and at the time of our inspection provided care to approximately 50 people in 40 households across the Portsmouth area. Four shared lives officers, an administrator and a registered manager supported the 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At the last inspection on 6 August 2014, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People told us they felt safe living in their homes. Shared lives carers gave good examples of how to protect people from abuse and avoidable harm and how to report their concerns if required. The provider supported carers with refresher safeguarding training every three years and robust safeguarding processes were in place for officers and carers to refer to if needed. There were enough carers employed to support people safely and safe recruitment practices were followed to ensure staff were suitable to work in a care setting. The service safely managed to support people with their medicines and robust training was provided.

People were supported by shared lives carers and officers who had acquired the appropriate skills and knowledge to care for them effectively. Whilst there were some gaps in annual refresher training, the service continued to monitor and invite carers to attend for their training and this was being managed well. The provider supported shared lives carers and officers with regular supervision and annual appraisal. People were supported and encouraged to access health and social care services when required and carers ensured that people maintained a balanced healthy diet. The service was aware of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and staff applied the principles of this in everyday practice. Carers told us that they sought consent before assisting people with personal care.

People were supported by staff who knew them well. Staff had been able to develop compassionate, caring relationships with people they had cared for over long periods of time. People were actively encouraged to contribute to decisions about their care and support by shared lives officers and carers. People’s dignity and privacy was respected and they were supported to maintain their independence wherever possible.

Support plans were detailed and personalised and care was provided in accordance with people’s needs and preferences. When people’s needs changed, plans were altered to reflect this. Regular reviews were held of the support provided, to ensure that plans continued to meet the needs of the person. There was a complaints process in operation that was dealt with effectively and in a timely manner.

The service promoted a transparent and supportive culture which was cultivated by the registered manager. Staff were passionate about the service they provided. People told us they felt able to discuss any concerns with their shared lives carers and shared lives officers and they would be listened to, with satisfactory action taken to address any issues. Quality audits were completed and feedback from people was sought to ensure the service continued to monitor the safe and effective running of the service and address any areas for improvement if any were identified.