7 Valleys Healthcare

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 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. Staff and leaders at the service spoke of their passion and commitment to high quality community care. Staff felt supported by their manager and felt able to contribute ideas about the service to enable continual improvement. The registered manager undertook routine monitoring of staff performance to ensure the quality of care provided was of a satisfactory standard.

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. Staff at the service felt supported and told us they could always contact leaders at the service for information and advice. The registered manager undertook regular observations of staff practice and this was used to both support staff to improve and to recognise and feedback about positive aspects of people’s performance. Regular formal supervisions took place between staff and the registered manager.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Policies and processes were in place to support staff to raise concerns should they need to. Staff spoke positively about the availability and approachableness of managers.

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 told us they felt supported at the service and happy, staff did not raise concerns around inequalities within the workplace. A staff member told us, “I’m not making this up, this is the best place I have ever worked, my manager is very good and understanding.”

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 registered manager undertook regular governance activities including auditing of care records and direct observations of care. Information from governance activities was used to feedback to staff about their performance and to identify quickly if there were issues with care delivery. The registered manager also completed regular calls to people and their relatives to discuss the service provided and to make adjustments if required.

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. Professional feedback about the service was positive. A professional told us, “The service worked with us to set up support for a person, this involved co-ordinating meetings with family members. The service was able to offer tailored support to the person, and this has worked well for them.”

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 and effective practice. Records showed that people, relatives and staff had opportunities to feedback about the service, and this information was used to improve service delivery. The service and staff approach were kept under review by the registered manager who undertook regular governance and auditing activities to ensure acceptable standards of care were maintained.