Blay Domiciliary Services

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. 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 had a shared vision for how the service was to develop. A variety of methods were implemented to ensure stakeholder involvement, including meetings, newsletters, surveys and individual consultation. The complaints system was accessible to all. People and staff were confident to raise any concerns they had and expected a timely response and resolution. The provider ensured lessons learned were captured and used to promote best practice.

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 provider deployed a local management team which was accessible and led by example. The registered manager understood their responsibility to monitor the service for any emerging risks and involved the management team to mitigate against any impact on people who received care. Monitoring systems ensured care was delivered to meet the needs of people. Staff performance was monitored, and any indicators of poor performance were addressed in a timely way. Staff at all levels were positive about their managers and felt supported in their roles. A member of staff told us, “If staff struggle, they are supported to be a good team member and achieve the required standards”.

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

People and their relatives told us they were encouraged to share their views and provide feedback about the service. Staff told us they could speak up and voice any concerns and felt confident that any concerns raised would be acted on. Systems in place enabled staff to speak up and feel safe doing so. Staff were reminded about anonymous reporting mechanisms and raising concerns during regular supervision and team meetings.

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 had policies and procedures for inclusion and diversity within the workforce. For example, recognising people’s protected characteristics and ensuring appropriate measures were in place to support these. Protected characteristics are a set of nine characteristics that are protected by law to prevent discrimination. For example, discrimination based on age, disability, race, religion or belief and sexuality. The provider supported staff to undertake assessment and diagnosis for health conditions to ensure they were equipped to be effective at work.

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 provider implemented robust governance systems. Regular compliance audits were carried out. Actions were identified and addressed to improve the quality of the care provided, promoting best outcomes for people. For example, an audit identified where feedback from people was limited, the provider took steps to address this to capture a fuller picture of the care received by people.

People provided positive feedback to the provider regarding the changes and improvements implemented, for example, the regular reviews of care needs.

The provider had identified where improvements were required to people’s care plans to consistently include detailed up to date person-centred information. These areas were recorded on the service improvement plan with ongoing actions to ensure best outcomes for people.

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. External partnerships were maintained with health professionals, social services and community groups. The provider recognised the importance of teams working together and good communication between the agencies working together. This ensured people received consistent and timely care. Staff told us how they work with health professionals to manage health conditions such as skin care.

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. The provider had a good understanding of how to make improvements happen. They had a continuous improvement plan in place which included measuring outcomes of improvements. The management team used information from audits, complaints, and incidents to improve the service. The managers worked with staff to understand how things went wrong and involved them in finding solutions.