17 February 2014
During a routine inspection
We found that there were policies and procedures in place to ensure that people were provided with care and support that met their needs. This included the policy that carers could accept a placement only where they had been given a comprehensive written needs assessment and believed that they could meet the person's assessed needs.
We saw that the provider had the necessary policies and procedures regarding people's safety, including policies on safeguarding, administration of medicine and the use of restraint.
We saw that effective recruitment procedures were in place for people wishing to join the Shared Lives scheme. This included reference checks, criminal and suitability checks from the Disclosure and Barring Service, application and interview process, checks on other household members and experience and skills checks. Applicants were also asked to undertake a health screening process.
The provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people receive and had an effective system in place to identify, assess and manage risks to the health, safety and welfare of people who use the service and others.