Miles Ahead 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 – 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 newly registered service. 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.

The organisation’s values were reflected in practice and were recorded in the staff handbook. Staff understood how to support people’s privacy, dignity and independence, and treated people as individuals. Information about care, rights and complaints was shared clearly, and people were involved in regular reviews of their care.

The culture of the service was open, caring and focused on learning. Staff and the management team worked together to build trust and support people to feel safe and listened to. There was a strong focus on building good relationships with people and helping them feel confident about their care.

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 was visible, approachable and supportive, with oversight maintained through supervision, spot checks and audits to maintain standards. They led by example and acted promptly where concerns were identified. This approach supported an open culture where feedback was encouraged. Staff described the registered manager as approachable and said they felt supported through guidance and training, helping them to carry out their roles effectively.

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

Whistleblowing procedures were clear and accessible, and staff understood how to raise concerns without fear of detriment. This was reflected in an open culture where staff felt confident to speak up and reported feeling listened to. One staff member said, “I am able to raise suggestions and I get the attention required”. For example, staff raised a query about medication storage, which was reviewed with relevant professionals. This demonstrated that concerns were taken seriously and acted on.

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. Equality and diversity training formed part of the Care Certificate, the national induction standards for care staff in England, and had been reviewed to ensure it remained relevant. Care planning reflected people’s individual preferences and supported person-centred care, helping to make sure people’s beliefs, values and choices were respected.

Diversity and inclusion was promoted in everyday practice. Staff understood people’s cultural and personal needs, including preferences for gender-specific care, and adapted support where needed. The registered manager and the operations manager recognised challenges in meeting all preferences and responded flexibly, for example by adjusting staff allocations or providing additional training.

This was supported by a respectful culture where staff felt able to raise concerns and share ideas and said these were listened to. Communication was adapted to meet individual needs, and while accessible formats such as braille or easy read had not been required, the service demonstrated awareness of how to provide information in different ways if needed.

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.

Governance arrangements were effective and proportionate to the size of the service. Audits, monitoring systems and regular meetings supported oversight and quality assurance, including the review of care delivery, incidents and key areas such as medicines. The service used systems to monitor visits and ensure incidents were reported and followed up appropriately. Recruitment processes were robust, and the provider planned growth carefully, only accepting care packages of people who they could safely support.

During the assessment, 1 safeguarding notification had not been submitted. This was addressed promptly once identified, with actions taken to strengthen systems and reduce the risk of recurrence. Overall, the registered manager demonstrated a clear focus on learning and continuous improvement.

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 service maintained regular communication with families and professionals, including social workers and hospitals, to support people’s needs. There was a coordinated approach when people moved between services, such as during hospital admissions and discharges, helping to ensure continuity of care.

At the time of the assessment, formal feedback from external professionals had not been routinely gathered, as consent to contact them had not always been provided. However, checks with the local authority confirmed there were no safeguarding concerns or restrictions in place, providing some assurance.

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.

There was a strong culture of reflection and learning, with staff encouraged to raise issues and work together to find solutions. For example, when staff raised difficulties using the mobile app to record care visits, this was escalated to the developer to explore improvements, showing feedback was listened to and acted on.

The management team and staff reviewed outcomes and used learning from incidents, feedback and day-to-day practice to make improvements. This included discussing issues in meetings and supervision, helping to continuously improve how care was delivered.