Care First 24 Ltd

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 outstanding. This meant service leadership was exceptional and distinctive. Leaders and the culture they created drove and improved high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 93 (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 very clear shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and an exceptional understanding of the challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

There was an exceptional culture within Care First 24 focused on people and achievement the best outcomes for individuals, instilled by leaders and shared by all staff. A healthcare professional told us, “Their view is very different. It’s not a business its care. You see it. Care is their ethos and that’s what they do. It’s their fundamental priority and you can see that. Its person centred. Very person centred.”

People and their relatives spoke of a positive culture, one relative said, “We’ve had lots of agencies, these guys are good, you get a feeling at the centre of the organisation they want to support, they are people that care, it makes me feel good.”

The provider carried out a survey for all professionals involved in the service in October 2025, and everyone agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with Care First 24. A healthcare professional told us, “It’s very important to them, what was best for the person.”

The provider had exceptionally 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 always did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

The provider ensured that throughout the organisation staff had the skills knowledge and experience to support people to the best of their abilities. The organisation was structured so each part was led by a clinical lead who was a specialist in the area, for example a learning disability nurse to lead the service for people with a learning disability and autistic people. Throughout the organisation staff were passionate about their roles and stressed how much they cared and fought for people to live their best possible lives.

The provider had won a number of awards including the ‘Home care registered manager award.’ They said of the provider, “There is no greater honour than caring for someone else’s loved ones, and the provider embodies this completely. They are truly amazing,” and “We hope you feel immensely proud of the exceptional contribution you make to social care.”

People, their relatives and professionals were exceptionally complimentary about the leadership of Care First 24. Healthcare professionals told us, “In my experience, this provider is well led, with a clear identified point of contact and escalation process.” And, “The leadership is knowledgeable, provide genuine contribution in MDT (multi-disciplinary teams) meetings and provide solutions to complex cases that they provide care for.” Another told of the registered manager, “She’s the lynchpin in all of this, her communication skills are great. She’s very supportive and inclusive she’s a compassionate leader.”

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

Staff and stakeholders told us they felt confident that if they needed to speak up their voice would be heard. Staff told us they knew how and where to share concerns, and that there would always be someone around to support them or offer guidance. People and their relatives told us they had open communication with the provider and were able to share anything they were unhappy about before things escalated. The providers staff survey asked if staff felt confident in raising concerns, and all staff answered that they would. A healthcare professional told us that all feedback was well received by the provider and acted on accordingly.

The provider strongly valued diversity in their workforce. They had an inclusive and fair culture which had improved equality and equity for people who worked for them.

The provider valued diversity within their workforce, and supported staff exceptionally well. Some staff had been referred for assessments for autism and dyslexia. The provider had made and funded these referrals to support staff with their work and wellbeing. Staff had individual adjustments in place as necessary to support their roles, including home working for staff who could become overwhelmed in the office environment, and adjusted hours for staff with children if they needed them. This had a positive impact on staff, who felt valued and seen and staff told us enabled them to provide exceptional support for people.

When staff needed adjustments for their role these were proactively provided. For example, when staff needed software programmes, including dragon software these were implemented. Dragon software is a speech recognition and voice-to-text software. It allows users to control computers, dictate documents, and format text using only their voice. It transcribes speech up to 3 times faster than typing. Staff told us, “This would never happen anywhere else.” A healthcare professional told us, “All the staff are treated very well. You can see they are happy, they enjoy their work. They shine and thrive with care first 24.”

There was an area within the office where staff were able to pray and observe their religion. The provider told us that staff were supported to take time off during religious holidays. They told us, “Some of our staff work Christmas day, and then they take Eid off for example so they can follow their religion. We support staff during Ramadam.” Within the providers wellbeing survey all staff answered that their work had a positive impact on their mental health.

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 had systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service. There was a suite of audits completed to ensure that people’s experience was positive, but also to ensure that best practice guidance and legislation was being met. When areas were identified for improvement, these were updated, and where necessary shared with staff within the weekly newsletter – or through clinical leads if specific to a care package.

The provider had built their own care planning system to incorporate and meet the needs of their service. The system allowed oversight from clinical leads and leaders of the organisation. Checks were completed to ensure that people’s needs were being met. For example, one staff member told us that improvements were needed with daily notes. This was picked up and addressed with staff. During medicines audits leaders identified that the outcome of PRN medicines was not always captured. This was raised and the provider amended the system so that this information must be captured by staff.

The provider was conscious about the environment and had a carbon reduction plan in place, which was led by the environmental champion. There were systems in place to ensure that recycling was completed within the office, and a carbon offset project in place.

The provider 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.

The provider worked with a local authority, and hospital to pilot a service to support people to be discharged to their homes in a safe but expedited way. The provider worked with the hospital to understand what caused delays in discharges and wrote a policy and provided staff for a short period of time to enable people to return home quickly. The project was a success with most people being supported to find local long term care companies to take over their package at home. A healthcare professional told us, “Getting them home as quickly as possible to support their independence and enablement was imperative.” All the staff we spoke with, spoke to us with pride about the work they did to support people home quicker, and the positive impact that had on the people they were supporting. A healthcare professional told us, “We had good feedback from the clients. They were glowing about it.”

The provider had a number of articles published sharing their ethos, and examples of good practice. This included articles about awards they had won, and positive strategies staff had implemented to support their mental health at work.

The provider enabled a staff member to have time off to support children on the ‘Dreamflight.’ The dreamflight is a UK charity that takes children with a serious illness or disability on a holiday of a lifetime. The provider also supported a number of local organisations with funding and physical support including events for social clubs to enable them to offer events including SEN playdates. A SEND play date is designed specifically for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). These events provide a safe space where parents can connect, and children can play freely without being overwhelmed.

The provider sponsored local teams for young people to enable them to continue doing what was important to them. This included football teams and cheerleading. The provider told us it was important to invest in the local community and support in any way they could. Staff also completed a number of challenges including a marathon in honour of people they had supported who had passed away.

The provider had a strong focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They always 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 and staff were dedicated to ensuring continuous improvement and learning throughout the organisation. There was a culture where staff were not afraid to make mistakes and received support for any issues that arose. At the end of each year, each staff member completed an evaluation to identify areas they could improve the following year and celebrate areas of success for the year. This sometimes included areas for personal or professional development.

The provider was open to learning and worked with the NHS and other organisations to encourage improvements within the NHS. This included projects such as the slow cooker project, an improved discharge system for the NHS and a project to provide evening support to people who lived in their own homes and benefited from short evening support calls. A healthcare professional told us about the provider, “She’s very much about sharing innovative solutions that work with other organisations especially when it benefits people.”

The provider had created ‘guides’ for each area they delivered support to inform people of local groups, charities and organisations that could support them with all aspects of their lives. The provider told us they found this beneficial to have this information in one place and be able to share it easily with people to inform them what free support they could access.

The provider received information about safety events and was aware of best practice guidance released as a result. They received updates from HSE, skills for care and the food hygiene standards agency to help inform their practice. Healthcare professionals told us the provider was always open to suggestions and support on how to improve. They told us, “Any suggestions that I make they adapt and change, nothing is taking personally they are very professional. They always take it. Thery work with me or they develop it. It’s very smooth and easy.”