Southview Home Care

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

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. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 68 (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.

People were pleased with the caring nature of the staff group. For example, people described staff as patient, polite, kind and respectful. A relative said, “To be honest the care staff are wonderful. They are always very pleasant and careful with her.”

The provider had reflected on the way in which they communicated, including their written style, and worked with the new care co-ordinator to ensure a professional response to concerns. They showed us a letter dated December 2024 which had been sent to people using the service and/or to their families. This was to apologise for a dismissed staff member’s poor practice, and to offer reassurance by giving information about the changes they had made to prevent it happening again. This included investing in a new electronic care system.

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.

Most people were happy with the way the service was run by the provider. Comments included, “I am quite happy with the service. They are doing a great job, and we never had any issue with the company” and “I have not needed to call them. I am fine with them. They are very good so far.”

The provider said they considered the impact on staff if someone they cared for had died. They said they encouraged staff to come into the office for a de-brief.

Staff were generally positive about how they were supported by the management team to carry out their job. For example, one said, “Yes, I feel very supported, I am praised for my hard work and thanked for the extra I may do.” Other staff said they felt they were treated fairly and said staff could ask questions, such as about their travel time.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

Most people knew there was a range of ways of contacting the provider including social media, and were happy with these arrangements. However, we received mixed feedback from some relatives about how they were updated on changes and getting in touch with the provider.

The provider knew people became anxious if staff were delayed so they were working on improving notifying people of changes. The appointment of the care co-ordinator who was based at the office had helped with answering staff and people’s queries. As well as providing additional support to the provider regarding investigations, care planning and staff oversight.

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.

The staff team was small, and staff told us how they supported each other. Team meetings were not always well attended because of the difficulty of getting everyone together when staff had other commitments, such as childcare. The provider was aware of staff members’ other commitments, and this was considered when arranging training and meeting with them.

The provider and care co-ordinator said they met regularly with staff as they worked alongside them, and often staff would pop into the office for a chat. Staff were also encouraged to contact them by phone.

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.

With the support of the local authority’s quality assurance and improvement team, the provider was working on how to improve on recording their quality assurance audits to show their good practice. For example, improving the recording of supervisions, competency checks and spot checks. The provider and care co-ordinator were also working on how they investigated complaints to ensure there was a clear audit trial, including a summary of phone calls and actions.

However, improvement was needed to ensure supervisions were routinely recorded and new staff members’ inductions signed off.

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.

Records showed how the provider and their staff liaised with health and social care professionals to benefit the people using the service. People were happy with the way this benefited their care. One person said the provider had helped advocate for them when a health professional was not providing the support they needed.

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. They actively contributed to safe, effective practice and research.

Following their last CQC assessment, the provider said they had worked on necessary improvements with the support of the local authority quality assurance and improvement team. They had considered how they could improve communication with people and their families, which included providing a bespoke accessible app.