The Village Care Group 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 service. This key question has been rated requires improvement. We found improvements were needed to the provider’s governance arrangements and having accurate documentation relating to the employment of staff. The service is in breach of 1 legal regulation in relation to good governance at the service.

This service scored 61 (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 and registered manager supported staff with supervisions and team meetings. However, we found some improvements were needed to ensure staff undertook training and learning opportunities so they could provide people with the best care possible. Staff provided people with respect and support to maximise their choice and independence. All people and their families felt the support from staff was positive.

The provider, registered manager and office staff were passionate about supporting people with good care. The registered manager who was new to the organisation had started to implement regular staff meetings and other improvements to the service.

Staff felt supported with team meetings and supervisions, and it was a nice place to work. Staff told us, “Managements very supportive” and “I’m happy working here.”

The registered manager spoke of the importance of being available and accessible to staff and how they wanted people to get the best care possible. Newsletters were sent to staff providing them with updates and recognition for their contribution to the service.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Staff felt able to raise any concerns with the registered manager or office staff. Staff had the opportunity to provide feedback through staff surveys and the provider’s whistleblowing policy. The registered manager confirmed they were available and accessible to staff should they need to raise any concerns with them.

The provider was not always able to demonstrate they valued their work force, and they had an inclusive and fair culture. For example, we found staff were not always provided practical moving and handling training and equality and diversity training, so they had the skills and knowledge to undertake their role. We also found improvements were needed to ensure the provider was employing and working staff within the legal requirements of those who were on a sponsorship. The provider supported staff flexibility taking into account availability and commitments they might have although we raised concerns with the provider where this might not be ethical.

The provider did not always ensure there was suitable governance arrangements in place and that actions were being taken when areas of improvement had been identified by the service.

For example, during our inspection we found the provider did not have a system in place to review the quality of care plans and associated care planning information such as medicines administration charts, and risk assessments. We identified 2 people’s care plans that lacked accurate information about the person’s individual needs. For example, 1 person needed improvements to ensure there was catheter care information available to staff. We found 2 care plan’s where the medicines information within the care plan and the medicines administration chart was not the same. The care plan had no risk assessment for an emollient cream that posed a flammable risk.

We found improvements were needed to documentation relating to staff employment and their contract. For example, not all contracts contained details of an individual’s start date, hourly rate, if staff were paid mileage or their training. Some staff were on a sponsorship arrangement this was not confirmed within their contract. We found some staff were working without having a day off.

Improvements were needed to ensure staff had appropriate training to enable them to carry out their duties. This included staff being trained in practical moving and handling techniques and learning disabilities and autism. Whilst the registered manager and provider had identified improvements were needed to how staff were being recruited, they had not identified improvements needed to ensure there was accurate employment documentation for staff. Following our inspection the provider sent us an action plan confirming improvements they were making to the service.

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 provider and registered manager sought feedback from people during care plan reviews and customer surveys. Newsletters provided people with important information such as introductions of new staff, how to raise any feedback about their care experience and how to contact the office should they need to. Care plan reviews and surveys were an opportunity to ensure people were being supported to get the best care and support that met their individual needs. People felt supported by staff who were familiar with their individual needs. Feedback from 2 health and social care professionals we spoke too was positive. They felt the service was flexible in the care it provided to people and was responsive to people’s individual changing needs, adjusting people’s support as required.

The provider undertook community events. These were an opportunity to provide information to the public about care should they need to access this in the future.

The provider had a positive culture within the organisation where they provided staff with continuous learning through staff meetings and supervision. They collated information about any incident and reviewed any learning with staff if needed. All people were happy with the care and support provided.