Witham Community Care 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 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 79 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The registered managers 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 registered managers told us about their vision for the future of the service. This was based on a steady growth which never detracted from providing the best care possible for the people they supported. They told us, “We have grown at a slow, steady pace and that works well for us. Yes we have ambitions but we do not want to lose that personal, family feel.” The registered managers told us they had plans, as the number of people they supported grew, to introduce champions among the staff team. Experts in a particular area for example, dementia or diabetes. They planned to expand their day centre commitment and to continue to forge strong links with other care providers in the area. Contingency plans were in place and those relating directly to people had been graded according to the level of support they would need in the event of a major disruption to the service.

The registered managers 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 service had a deputy manager who shared responsibility for on call and supported with pre-assessments. They also provided office support and attended care calls to support staff in people’s homes when needed. A care co-ordinator had also recently been appointed who took some responsibility for the line management of staff. Everyone spoke well of the registered managers describing them as being friendly, approachable and always helpful. Comments from staff included, “Managers are approachable and supportive. I can call them when I finish work if there is ever anything on my mind.” Another added, “Any issue they would get back to me straight away. Sometimes they come out just for reassurance.” The registered managers were both experienced in the field of adult social care and had established a network of supportive colleagues around them.

The registered managers fostered a positive culture where staff felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Staff told us of the many ways they could speak up and make their views and opinions heard. The registered managers held 3 monthly supervision meetings with staff and held regular team meetings. It was clear from minutes and notes from these meetings that staff views were recoded and acted on. Managers promoted an open-door policy and encouraged staff to pop into the office to catch up whenever they could, presenting another opportunity to speak directly to the managers.

The registered managers 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 registered managers promoted cultural and spiritual awareness and respected people’s differences. Equal opportunities and diversity policies were in place and were regularly updated. Staff told us about an inclusive working environment where everyone felt comfortable and supported.

The registered managers 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 managers maintained clear oversight of all systems and processes. A clear system of auditing was in place that followed daily, weekly, monthly and 3 monthly reviews according to what process was being reviewed. A number of daily checks were made, enabled by the data fed into the mobile phone application by staff. Managers could immediately see what tasks, including where people needed support with their medicines, had been completed, or not as the case may be. A summary of auditing action points was drawn up each month with follow up information when completed or reviewed. A monthly action plan brought all the auditing actions together in one document for easy access and oversight which made sure nothing was missed.

The registered managers clearly understood and carried out their duty to collaborate and worked in partnership, and services worked seamlessly for people. They always shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement. Both registered managers were experienced in adult social care and had established links within the local area that were of significant support and comfort to the people their cared for. These links were not simply professional arrangements but a genuine, mutual understanding of people’s needs and how working together improved outcomes for people. For example, they worked closely with local residential care homes. Sometimes people supported needed a period of respite care in a care home. People’s needs sometimes varied between settings and it was noted that some people’s mood and presentation changed when returning to their homes. Working together it was identified that some people were experiencing loneliness and anxiety. The registered managers acknowledged this and put in additional support for people when returning home and arranged, with their consent, for them to attend their day centre and other social get togethers for people in similar positions. There was a noticeable difference in people when these arrangements were in place and people told us they felt happier and better supported. The registered managers sought out appropriate meetings and events for people to attend. The day centre was a highlight to many people. Some people were also supported to attend coffee mornings at a local dementia café, a support network for people living with dementia. A professional involved in these transitions told us, “From raising their concerns a GP referral was able to be completed and professional support sought, from our continued communication and professional input it is now clear that (person) is improving in mood once again.” The service had recently appointed a dementia champion, a staff member who was identified as an advocate for people living with dementia, responsible for raising awareness among the whole team. Their role will include all aspects of supporting people living with dementia and sharing learning and best practice with all staff. The registered managers are active members of a local Dementia Action Alliance and professionals have commented on their enthusiasm and total commitment to the role. The registered managers had shared some of the ideas and best practice from this alliance and introduced people to events that enhanced the lives of people living with dementia. This included attendance at a choir and people involved in supporting work at a local allotment. Another local care home welcomed people in for a chat and a hot drink when they were out in the community. Positive relationships were established with local solicitor firms who handled some people’s finance and powers of attorney. A relative told us, “I actually recommended the service to a friend and they have come back to me to say how excellent they think they are and thanked me.”

The registered managers 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 registered managers were always looking at innovative ways to improve their service and introducing new methods of measuring performance. They were in regular contact with the local authority, other care services and professionals and constantly maintaining positive communication networks and recording and sharing learning opportunities form both good and poor practice. Monthly management meetings picked up any concerns or trends with staff performance or service delivery. The registered managers were aware of their responsibilities under the duty of candour and significant events that occurred were reported to the local authority and CQC in a timely way.