This was an announced inspection which took place over three days on, 29, 30 and 31 October 2018.

This was the first inspection of the service following its new registration in December 2017.

Shared Lives and Supported Living is a service which provides care and support to people living in their own homes including ‘supported living’ settings. ‘The Shared Lives Service enables people with learning disabilities to live in the carers’ own home to maximise their independence, health and wellbeing. People live as part of the family and this model of support for vulnerable people was previously called Adult Placement.

The supported living scheme enables vulnerable people, including those with a learning disability to live in supported accommodation which maximises their independence. People have their own tenancies, with the properties being owned by different housing associations. People are supported by support workers. The majority of people have 24-hour support, with either a support worker completing a waking night or a sleep-in at the property. The housing association is the landlord and they are responsible for the maintenance and up keep of the individual properties. They are responsible for the health and safety checks of the accommodation, including, gas, electric and water.

The service provision offers a personalised service to vulnerable adults, aged over 18 years who have learning disabilities and/or autistic disorder. This report focuses on the experiences of people who received personal care as part of their support package. CQC does not regulate premises used for these services.

A manager was in post and they were awaiting confirmation of their registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for the position of registered manager.

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.

We spoke and met with people who received the Shared Lives Service and their carers; we also met and spoke with people in their own home who received the Supported Living Service, along with their support workers who supported them. The feedback we received evidenced people were receiving good standards of individualised care and support. External professionals involved directly or in commissioning people’s care also gave positive feedback regarding the service provision.

People and their relatives felt that the service they received was safe. Support workers and carers were clear about the action they would take to report any actual or potential harm. Policies and procedures were in place in relation to safeguarding people from abuse and exploitation.

Systems were in place for the recording and monitoring of accidents and incidents to identify any trends or patterns that may occur.

People's care planning documents considered risks regarding people’s health and wellbeing and plans were in place to minimise these risks whilst encouraging people to be independent. Environmental risks were also considered within the person’s home and, for example, going out into the community and travelling in a car to ensure their safety.

Recruitment practices were robust so that only people suitable to work with vulnerable people were employed by the service.

Medicines were managed safely and people received medicines from support workers and carers who were trained and deemed competent. People were encouraged to look after their own medicines to support their independence.

There were sufficient numbers of support workers to provide support to people in their own home. We saw good examples of how having the same support workers and carers had helped improve people’s health, wellbeing and independence.

Support workers and carers had a good understanding of