It’s Official. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has awarded the Milton Keynes Council Short Breaks and Shared Lives service for people with learning disabilities an ‘Outstanding’ inspection grade.

Cllr Nigel Long Cabinet member for Adult Social Care and Housing said, “The Care Quality Commission gives only 1% of services in the Country this top mark. I am so proud that this excellent service has been recognised as ‘outstanding’.

Milton Keynes Council’s  Short Breaks and Shared Lives service provides accommodation and personal care to a range of people with support needs.

• The short breaks service provides respite and short break accommodation for people with learning disabilities and complex needs. It supports up to 21 people at any one time.
• The Shared Lives service recruits people to become paid carers to support adults with a range of support needs. People stay in the carers home and receive their support within a family environment. It was supporting 14 people at the time of the CQC inspection.

Cllr Long added, “The CQC inspection found the services were safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. They draw upon best practice to support disabled people to live independent and full lives.”   

 The report said, “There is an ethos that placed people at the heart of everything. People, their relatives, shared lives cares and staff were fully consulted and empowered to be involved in the running of the service and the things that affected them.”(Page 17) 

Cllr Long concluded, “This service highlights great practice, terrific staff and carers. It is about disabled people living independent lives and that approach is at the heart of all we do in Adult Social Care.”