Personal Care Specialists

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 requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led.

This service scored 82 (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 a clear statement of purpose including a description of the values which the staff team aimed to work in line with. People, staff, relatives and external stakeholders felt well supported and spoke positively of the service. Comments from staff included, “It is a small team, but we have good communication. We work together to try our best” and “The culture is good; it is a supportive environment to work in.”

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. We received positive comments about the leadership and approachability of the registered manager from people, staff and external stakeholders. Comments included, “[The registered manager] is a team player and open to sharing their knowledgewith others” and “[The registered manager] is knowledgeable, good with tackling issues. [The registered manager] is there to help you.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. The provider conducted regular supervision and staff meetings to gather feedback on the quality of the service. Although at the time of the assessment the provider did not complete any staff surveys, they had plans in place to commence them soon. Staff told us they were encouraged to speak up. A staff member told us, “Yes, I do. Because if there is an issue something will be done about it.”

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 worked as a team and helped each other. Staff told us they felt they were treated equally and fairly by the provider. The provider had a diverse staff team and worked with an organisation to support vulnerable people seeking employment. There were policies and processes in place to ensure staff were recruited fairly and without discrimination.

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. Regular audits and checks were carried out, these included care records, medicines, health and safety and staff practice. Audits showed action was taken where areas of improvement were identified. The provider had an overall action plan to ensure there was continuous improvement 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 management and staff team had good working relationships with stakeholders including health professionals and the local authority. Feedback from stakeholders was exceptionally positive. Comments included, “[The registered manager] has a passion and compassion for the service”, “I have seen firsthand how Personal Care Specialist team leaders and caring staff not only attend to their tasks on a call, but sit with, empathize, listen, and support the person and their wider family,” and, “[The provider] was responsive, they worked with us to make sure the [person] was safe and well cared for. They showed a willingness to adjust the timing of visits.”

The provider had a strong focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They always encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. Actions on the service improvement plan were monitored to help make sure improvements were benefiting people using the service. Staff told us they were involved in discussions about improving the service during team meetings and supervisions, staff spoke positively of the continuous improvement in the service. People were happy with their support and told us they felt the service was supporting them well and continually improving. The leadership team was pro-active in their approach to using resources to support people and were passionate about how they researched information to implement improvements.