‘A positive experience:’ Lifeways and Living Ambitions’ Edinburgh services receive new rating from Scottish Care Inspectorate

Lifeways and Living Ambitions’ supported living services in Edinburgh have received praise from Scotland’s Care Inspectorate for leadership and support of people’s wellbeing, among other areas.

Inspections were carried out virtually. Inspectors spoke with individuals we support, family members, and people working in local health and community services. Feedback from this group included:

• “I feel happy, safe and secure here”
• “the keyworkers are excellent”
• “The staff seem to know her well and her keyworker is proactive in trying to help have as much independence as possible.”

The inspection report noted that “staff showed good knowledge of how to escalate any issues regarding people’s care and support. Staff spoke very positively of their work.”

One team member was quoted as saying: “I’m proud of the team that we have. We’re different but we all have the same goal of supporting people.”

The inspection report also noted that:

• “People experiencing care and support from the service had a positive experience.”
• “People told us how much they valued the support they received and the positive impact this has had on their lives.”
• “Staff interactions with people experiencing care and support were warm and caring and staff spoke positively about their role in improving people’s lives.”
• “Support plans were person-centred and easy to follow.”
• “Staff used different approaches with different people tailored to how people wanted to be communicated with.”

Inspectors rated the services as Good on four counts (support of wellbeing, staff team, planning of care and support and quality of care during the pandemic), and Very Good on leadership.

“We are delighted to hear that our high standards and attention to detail are noted in this report,” said Lorna Barenburg, Lifeways’ Regional Director for Scotland.

“Our team has worked tirelessly through challenging conditions to provide extraordinary support to individuals in Edinburgh. They are a credit to their profession and to Lifeways.”

“We believe our services offer the best of both worlds: support for individuals when needed, and the independence to spend time out and about in Edinburgh’s community.”

View a PDF version of the Care Inspectorate report.

About Living Ambitions:

The services inspected by the Care Inspectorate are run by Living Ambitions, which delivers a diverse range of bespoke services across the UK.

These services include supported living, residential care, outreach services, respite care and support at home, with the aim of helping people live as independently as possible.

Living Ambitions is part of Lifeways.

About Lifeways:

Lifeways is the UK’s largest team of support professionals providing support for adults in the community.

Our 11,000 colleagues currently support almost 5,000 individuals who live in our 1,500 supported living and residential services across England, Scotland, and Wales.