West Devon & District Care & Support 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.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained 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 clear vision, to enable people to achieve goals and live the life they wanted to live. Staff understood the importance of this and how to support people to experience this.

The culture within the service was person centred and open and staff felt there was a culture of collaboration, as did people and their relatives. Staff told us they felt valued and supported to provide the best care to people. Additionally, they also told us they understood the provider’s expectations around delivering compassionate and responsive care.

People told us they felt listened to and included in the direction of their individual care. People and their relatives spoke positively about the care provided and the approach taken by staff.

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 relatives consistently described the management team as approachable, supportive and responsive. Staff said the office was always available when support was needed. People said they felt the registered manager maintained appropriate communication and addressed concerns effectively. This reflected visible and accessible leadership which promoted confidence and trust.

Leadership was sustained through safe, effective, and inclusive recruitment and succession planning.

The registered manager was alert to any examples of a poor culture which may impact on the safety and quality of people’s care and support.

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

The provider promoted an open and inclusive culture which sought the views of people using the service and staff. There was consistent dialogue with people who used the service, capturing their views and listening to their experiences, this helped to continuously improve the service they received.

People who used the service told us they could raise issues with the provider and they would be addressed. The registered manager held regular discussions with staff and people, giving them opportunities to speak up.

The provider valued and listened to the views of staff. Staff were given opportunities to provide feedback about the service and their opinion was valued.

There were systems to support the practice of being able to speak up, including a complaints procedure and whistle blowing policy. Staff confirmed they knew about the whistleblowing procedure and felt safe to speak up.

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 felt they were treated fairly, including by the registered manager, and worked well with the wider team. Staff completed training in equality and diversity and understood what it meant.

Staff were kept up to date with issues affecting the overall service via team meetings and on-going conversations. They said, “We have regular staff meetings, online and in person training and regular spot checks to ensure we are working to company policy.”

Recruitment and disciplinary processes were clear and ensured there was no disadvantage based on staff's specific protected equality characteristics. The provider had processes to ensure an inclusive workplace where staff were treated and supported as individuals.

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.

There were clear and effective governance, management, sustainability, and accountability arrangements to monitor the quality and safety of the service.

There was regular oversight of the service through spot checks, regular supervisions, audits, and ongoing communication with people using the service and their relatives. People and families consistently said management checked in regularly, reviewed care plans and ensured needs were being met. There was an out of hours procedure and members of the management team were available on call 24 hours a day.

Audits were completed regularly to monitor the service. This enabled any trends to be identified to ensure the service was meeting the requirements and needs of people being supported. Where actions were needed, these had been followed up. For example, care plans and risk assessments being updated and involvement of relevant health and social care professionals.

Staff were encouraged to develop and make improvements in their work where necessary. The registered manager completed regular spot checks, oversight and contact with people receiving care. They monitored risk, reviewed incidents and adapted care when needs changed.

Governance processes promoted sustainability and accountability. Audits of medicine records, care logs and training were carried out by the registered manager to check staff were completing them accurately.

The service was open, honest, and transparent with people when things went wrong. The registered manager recognised their responsibilities under the duty of candour requirements and followed the service’s policies and procedures.

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.

People confirmed their needs were met by staff in partnership with relevant health and social care professionals. Relatives spoke positively about the care provided and the approach taken by staff when health concerns were identified.

Staff told us they liaised with healthcare professionals involved in people’s care when required. This included working with GPs, social workers, community nurses, and occupational therapists to help ensure people received coordinated support. Staff explained communicating with external professionals helped them better understand people’s needs and provide appropriate care. They added that sharing information and working collaboratively supported continuity of care and contributed to consistent approaches when supporting people.

A professional commented, “I have worked with West Devon District Care Support for many years with a variety of different cases, often relating to Moving and Handling issues. I find them to be approachable and responsive when contacted for professional issues, I can always talk to an appropriate person quickly and they will feed back to me promptly and appropriately when asked. They are very good at remaining person centred and in practice build good, lasting, and trusting relationships with the people they care for and their families. They contact me to raise difficulties when they arise and will work with me to find a resolution, including arranging joint visits with me, and trying different techniques or different pieces of equipment. I know that when they raise an issue it will be appropriate and they will have tried whatever they can to resolve it before referring to our service.”

The registered manager worked effectively with families and external professionals. Relatives confirmed the service liaised with them regularly, adjusted care times when needed and coordinated with health professionals when additional support was required.

The provider and their management team were positive about their links with local partners and health and social care teams. They expressed an open positive attitude to receiving support and understood how and where they could access support.

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.

Opportunities to learn from all incidents were taken and learning was shared across the service.

People who received support were actively involved in the service and benefitted from the learning culture and continuous improvement service delivery.

The provider and their management team worked with other services, including the local authority. They accessed best practice learning resources and kept up to date with changes in the social care system.

Policies and procedures were available to staff and were reviewed periodically to ensure they remained relevant. Staff told us they completed an induction and ongoing training, which helped them develop the skills and knowledge required for their roles.

Staff also told us opportunities to reflect on practice were provided through supervision sessions and team meetings. During these discussions, learning from training, feedback and service reviews was shared. This supported consistent approaches to care and contributed to improvements in the way care was delivered.