Lifeways launches new Family Panel to strengthen care and support quality

Lifeways is launching a UK-wide Family Panel, a new initiative designed to enhance the quality of care and support provided across our services.

Starting with 13 family members of people we support, the panel will play a vital role in scrutinising our services and ensuring that we continue to meet the highest standards of care.

Building on a process started last summer, the panel will serve as an independent group of quality checkers, offering invaluable feedback on what we do well, identifying areas for improvement, and advising on how we can enhance communication and engagement with families.

The ambition is to establish similar panels in every region of the UK, creating a broader, community-driven approach to quality assurance.

Gareth Roberts, Director of Quality at Lifeways, said: “Lifeways is a listening and learning organisation, focused on continuous improvement.”

The panel will be chaired by one of its members, and Executive Team members - including the CEO - will attend each meeting to listen and be accountable.

Meaningful change

“In our most recent satisfaction survey, 87% of the people we support said their needs are met, 90% reported that staff listen and act on their concerns, and 90% said they feel safe.

“However, we know that we do not always get things right, and we are ambitious to improve continuously - to benefit the people we support and those who love them. By having family members as empowered scrutineers, they will play a vital role in ensuring that our support is the very best it can be.”

The Lifeways Family Panel is a key step in building on this positive feedback and ensuring that families have an impartial platform to influence our services.

It will meet to co-produce meaningful change at Lifeways and help the organisation improve what it does.

Happiness audits

As part of their role, panel members will visit and assess services, conducting ‘happiness audits’ to evaluate cleanliness, engagement, quality of care, and whether people feel heard and empowered to make changes in their lives.

Critically, the feedback from the panel will be heard directly by the Group Executive to ensure that its findings truly influence the workings of the organisation.

The panel has already developed and piloted a Family Checker audit in selected services, with a full launch planned for this spring.

Gareth added: “This initiative is just the beginning. We aspire for every region to have a family quality checker, reinforcing our commitment to excellence in care and support.”

 

About Lifeways:

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

We support adults with diverse and complex needs, including learning disabilities, autism, physical disabilities, acquired brain injuries, and mental health conditions.

Lifeways delivers support across three divisions: supported living, residential and mental health services.

As the supported living sector’s largest team of professionals, Lifeways’ extensive experience and national reach mean we deliver extraordinary support to adults, enabling them to live fulfilling and independent lives in the community. 

Our 10,000 colleagues currently support around 4,000 individuals who live in our 1,100 supported living and residential services across England, Scotland, and Wales. 

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