Empathy Care24 Northampton

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture.

At our last assessment we rated this key question inadequate. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to governance. Significant improvements had been made, and the provider was no longer in breach of this regulation.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities. The provider had developed effective systems to listen to people’s feedback and make the improvements to the quality of the service. A person told us, “For me, it’s the consistency of support that they give me.” Another person told us, “The supervisor comes personally and sits down with me and discusses with me. They tell me what happens, asks questions about the [staff] and how they conduct themselves with me. They ask for suggestions how they can improve the service for me.” Staff were encouraged to have ideas and the management team had promoted staff who showed an aptitude and willingness to implement and embed improvements.

The provider had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty. Staff told us the management team were very supportive, they told us, “I feel very supported. The management is very good, and we catch up very often, which helps a lot. I can always reach for help, if I have a lot of things to do. They always come forward to help.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. People and relatives felt confident their concerns would be listened to and the out of hours line was answered by a member of staff who knew how to respond. A member of staff said, “I feel confident about approaching the manager. We are always encouraged to do so.” Where staff had raised concerns directly with CQC or other agencies in the past, the management team had responded positively and used the information to improve the service.

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them. Staff told us they had not experienced any discrimination. A member of staff told us, “The management and manager are very supportive. If I have an issue, I can talk to the manager, and they always find a solution.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate. The audits were effective in identifying areas that required improvements, actions were taken to put things right. The governance systems had improved the quality and safety of the service.

The provider understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement. The provider worked closely with the commissioners and safeguarding to demonstrate the improvements they had made to the service.

The provider focused on continuous learning and improvement across the organisation. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. The provider listened to people and staff and used the feedback to learn from their experiences. A member of staff told us, “The manager always encourages us to speak up and share concerns and positives and also encourage us to share new ideas to help to improve. Most of the time, the idea is good, [the manager] tries to take them onboard.”