Novus Care Limited - Surrey

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.

Feedback from people and relatives about the overall service was positive. Comments included, “I would like to say that they have changed my life, they are very caring, the support has made such a big difference”, “Our experiences with Novus are positive and we are happy and confident to keep using them” and “I think Novus Care are very good and professional. The [staff] are all very professional and attend to me very well and caring for my needs. I wish them the best for the future.”

The provider had a clear vision and values which were set out in their Statement of Purpose and supported by a range of policies and procedures. Leaders used team meetings to discuss the service’s values and vision and to reinforce expectations about delivering high‑quality, person‑centred care.

The registered manager told us, “I have confidence in the whole team here, I know how hard we work to make sure everybody has what they need.” They said, “We have the culture here of looking after staff, because we want to make sure that they do feel valued.” The nominated individual told us, “We have our trusted values and every month we send these values around to all of our staff.”

Staff were able to describe these values and fed back that the culture of the service was positive and supportive. One member of staff said, “How we support each individual, ensuring that we are enabling, making sure that the calls and the care plans are person centred. Making sure that we are respectful and responsible, understanding of different people's needs and cultures and the way that they want things doing.” This helped with consistent, compassionate care for people using the service.

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.

Feedback from people and staff about the leadership of the service was consistently positive. The registered manager was described as responsive, approachable and supportive. Staff told us they felt listened to and able to raise concerns or seek guidance at any time. A member of staff told us, “I feel valued at work because I'm given enough support emotionally and physically. If I have something that's bothering me, sometimes I always go talk to my manager.”

The registered manager told us, “We do also have Wellness Wednesdays, which was widely advertised to staff. And it's a dedicated day that we free ourselves up. We encourage staff to come in, drop in, come and have a cup of tea, have a catch up, to take care of their own well-being and offload.” This reflected an open and supportive leadership culture where staff felt valued and well supported in their roles, contributing to positive experiences for people using the service.

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

People, their relatives and staff told us they felt able to speak up and that their voices would be heard. Staff described an open and supportive culture where they felt comfortable raising concerns, sharing feedback or asking for guidance.

Staff were aware of whistleblowing arrangements. The provider had a whistleblowing policy in place, with a clear process for staff to follow if they needed to raise matters formally under whistleblowing procedures. Comments from staff included, “I can speak out about anything about anyone if I'm not okay” and “I think everybody has a voice. We have whistleblowing for a reason. It's there to be used. If you see something that you don't agree with or isn't correct, you need to raise that.”

The provider had a range of systems in place to encourage open communication. These included regular staff surveys, supervisions and staff meetings, which gave staff opportunities to share their views and discuss any concerns. The registered manager told us, “The carers will come in, and we build trusted relationships with our service users, families and the careers. I'm always encouraging an open-door policy.”

The provider promoted diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by promoting equality and fairness for their workforce.

The well being of the workforce was actively promoted. Leaders held regular staff meetings, carried out staff surveys, and provided structured supervision and appraisal arrangements. These processes gave staff protected opportunities to discuss workload, wellbeing, inclusion and any concerns, and supported reflection on practice and development needs. A member of staff told us they wanted to start a training course and that, “They actually opened up that space for me [from the rota] for me to be able to be available [for the course]. Another member of staff told us, “I think everyone's opinion matters.”

Leaders demonstrated a commitment to workforce diversity and inclusive practice. The nominated individual told us, “With cultural needs it’s making sure that they can have their time to go to church and arranging the rotas appropriately.”

The registered manager told us, “[Member of staff] is our mentor, if there's any little rumblings or any conflict building, she's been able to bring staff together and with my support here as well. It can be a high stress environment, if there is conflict with any carers, it's always good to try and resolve that conflict at the early stages rather than let it get to a stage where they aren’t speaking or communicating.”

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.

We saw evidence of regular audits being completed to monitor the quality and safety of the service. Audit findings were reviewed and fed into an action plan, and leaders were able to demonstrate that actions had been completed to address identified areas for improvement.

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.

Staff worked with a range of external professionals, including GPs, community nurses and specialist services, to respond to people’s changing needs. Information was shared in a timely manner to support safe decision‑making and joined‑up care, helping people avoid unnecessary duplication and ensuring they received the right support. The registered manager told us, “It's always good for me to keep abreast of the Surrey Care Association, the Hampshire Care Association, and the drop-in sessions from Surrey County Council and things like that. It's always good to attend these things and bring it back to put it into practice.”

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.

Leaders demonstrated a commitment to learning, innovation and evidence‑based practice. The registered manager told us, “I went to the registered managers meeting and I've signed up via Surrey Care Association for a dementia research paper.” The nominated individual told us they were taking part in a project around how technology could help in care. They said, “I'm hoping to bring forward some of those ideas for some of the service users.”

The service documented learning within incidents and accidents and took direct action to support people and keep them safe to prevent further occurrences. Staff felt they received feedback about incidents in a timely manner. An external professional fed back, “There is a robust system for logging and monitoring any complaints and safeguarding enquiries, logging actions taken and lessons learnt.”