Wise Support

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 service since their registration in June 2022. 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.

Staff understood their duty and responsibility for providing safe, high quality, person-centred care to people in line with the service’s vision and values. The registered manager used spot checks, supervision and staff team meetings to continually check staff’s understanding of their role and discuss how the service’s vision and values should be achieved through their working practices. A staff member told us, “[Registered manager] expects us to respect people, motivate people, care for people and keep people safe. In meetings we are focussed on what people need and how we can continue to meet this. The manager gives us feedback and support to improve.”

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.

People and staff spoke highly of the registered manager. A relative told us, “The manager is very good and he seems to employ good staff. I have no concerns about how things are managed.” The registered manager was experienced and undertook continuous learning and development to maintain their skills and knowledge. They worked closely with people, providing care and support to them on a daily basis. This meant they had a good understanding of the needs of people using the service and how these should be met through the provision of safe, high quality person-centred care.

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

People felt supported to raise and discuss issues that were concerning them. One person told us, “I could tell them if I wasn’t feeling good and they would do something about it.” People were provided a variety of ways to share their feedback about their experiences of the service, including, 1 to 1 meetings with their key worker, management spot checks, posting in the comments and suggestions box and quality surveys. Staff were supported to speak up if they had any concerns. The registered manager told us, “I encourage people and staff to be honest and transparent. We have the whistleblowing policy which has been shared with people and staff. We use our team meetings to talk about things that have gone wrong and learning from our mistakes.”

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 were treated equally and fairly at work. They received the same opportunities to learn and progress in their roles if they wanted this. All staff were provided with relevant training to inform their knowledge and understanding of equality, inclusivity and fairness in the workplace.

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 registered manager undertook regular checks and audits of the quality and safety of care and support provided to people. Outcomes from checks and audits were used to make any changes required and support staff to improve their working practices. A staff member told us, “The manager is always monitoring and observing how I am working and will give me feedback.”

The registered manager understood and demonstrated compliance with regulatory requirements. They also understood their responsibility to provide honest information, suitable support and to apply duty of candour where appropriate.

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.

Staff worked well with healthcare professionals to collaborate on the delivery of safe, high-quality care to people. They followed guidance and recommendations from professionals to support their learning and improve the delivery of people’s care and support. This had led to positive outcomes for people. For 1 person we saw this collaborative approach had led to the person experiencing improvements to their physical and mental health, reducing the need for ongoing support for this aspect of their care and support needs.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system.

The registered manager used learning, from feedback and outcomes from audits and checks, to make improvements to the quality and safety of the care and support provided to people. They were a member of local networks and attended relevant meetings to continually improve their knowledge and practice in relation to how the service is delivered to people.