Diamond Support Services Limited

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 requires improvement. This meant the service management and leadership was inconsistent. Leaders and the culture they created did not always support the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 62 (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. Staff reported a culture of collaboration, where they felt listened to and open communication had been encouraged. A member of staff told us, “They are very good. They listen to staff, treat us with respect, and provide information when needed.”

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.
Staff told us they felt supported and leaders had a visible presence in the service. A member of staff told us, “They are very good. They listen to staff, treat us with respect, and provide information when needed.”
 

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.
Staff confirmed that they understood the term ‘freedom to speak up’ and reported a positive culture in which they felt able to speak up. Policies were in place in line with best practice guidance relating to freedom to speak up and complaints.
 

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 provider valued diversity in their workforce. Staff had access to equality training to help them understand protected characteristics, bullying and harassment. There were policies in place and in-line with current best practice guidance around equality and diversity of the workforce.
 

The service did not have clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They did not act on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, or share this securely with others when appropriate.
We found that for some staff there was no documented evidence of regular spot checks, competency assessments, supervision or appraisal being completed in a timely manner. This meant the provider could not always be assured that all staff were working safely or had the support they needed to carry out their roles effectively.
The systems to ensure people always received their medicines safely were not effective, as we identified a shortfall with the way the provider was managing people’s medicines, which placed people at risk of unsafe care.
There was no effective system of record keeping in place. Care plans did not always include signatures from people and their representatives as evidence that consent had been sought prior to the provision of care and support.
However, the provider had a business continuity plan in place to help ensure the service could continue running during and after any significant disruptions.
The provider took prompt and appropriate improvement actions in response to the concerns identified during this assessment.
 

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 informed us that they regularly engaged the care forum to support service development and to achieve improved outcomes for people.

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 provider actively sought the views of staff, people using the service, and their relatives and carers when developing and evaluating improvement to ensure there was a culture of continuous improvement. Staff viewed learning from complaints as an opportunity to improve the service.