Angelica Care Mid Sussex

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.

This is the first assessment for this registered service. This key question has been rated good.

This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

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 and senior staff demonstrated an inclusive culture and spoke of how they supported staff with flexible working arrangements which supported them to balance the challenges of working alongside their personal family commitments. Staff consistently told us how they were supported as employees and encouraged to speak to senior staff should they have any queries, one told us, “When you come to them saying I think this is needed for this person, they will put it in place. They will find the best way. If we have any problems with any sort of rotas or anything, they're happy to sort it for us.”

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. The registered manager and senior staff were actively involved in all aspects of the service related to the provision of care. Staff spoke of the support they received and told us they could give suggestions and were listened to. People, relatives and health professionals spoke positively about senior leaders. One professional told us, “I have encountered senior staff when I have been out on visits, who have attended with the regular carers as difficult or challenging conversations are expected with the client/family. I have always thought that it shows a supportive organisational nature, for a senior person to attend and not expect the carers to have those difficult conversations.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. People and their family members told us their views were sought regularly, one family member told us, “I completed a questionnaire recently and we get quarterly “What’s Happening” newsletters. Recently we appeared in one.” Staff received regular supervision and consistently told us they felt confident to speak up about any concerns they had. Staff told us how they communicated via the use of the online care system. One staff member told us, “As a team whenever we send a supervisor alert, we can see senior staff responses on the app and that is quite satisfying as well because you know its been answered and dealt with. We are always communicating, in the care team there are good handovers amongst each other too.”

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. There was a diverse range of backgrounds, skills and experience within the workforce. The service had an open, inclusive recruitment procedure. The provider described how they recruited staff based on their compassionate natures, skills and experience. Staff said they felt happy working for Angelica Care Mid Sussex.

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. Quality assurance processes were in place and were effective in identifying areas where improvements could be made. The registered manager conducted regular audits to ensure the quality of service being delivered to people. For example, incident audits had identified a potential for some staff improvement around medicines practice. This resulted in actions which included staff receiving further support and additional training. The registered manager understood their duty to notify CQC of events within the service. They demonstrated and evidenced their understanding to be open, honest and apologized when things went wrong. The service development plan was a working document and measured the service’s compliance against CQC’s single assessment framework to continually improve and develop.

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 registered manager discussed their links with local health and social services teams and understood how to seek support from them when required. They attended provider forums where information was shared by partners. Health and social care professionals were consistently positive about their relationships with Angelica Care Mid Sussex and expressed confidence in the knowledge and skills of the team. One told us, “I think Angelica Care Mid Sussex is a very good care agency. All staff appear comfortable with their role, knowledgeable, caring and appear to establish good relationships with people and their families.”

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. The registered manager told us about links they had with various health and social care forums which they identified helped them keep up to date. Senior staff demonstrated an open transparent approach to learning and were keen to develop the business with a reputation based on outcomes and the quality of life for both people they supported and staff. Feedback from people, their relatives, staff and professionals confirmed Angelica Care Mid Sussex was having a positive impact on them, one relative shared an example with us, “There was an incident where my [loved one] had a health emergency. The carers were about to leave but instead stayed with me and stopped me from panicking until the paramedics arrived. They didn’t have to stay, it made their schedule difficult for the rest of the day but their concern was for us. This was so much appreciated”.