The Dispensary

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 management and leadership were consistent. Leaders and the culture they created supported the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 82 (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.New staff received support and training which helped them to demonstrate the provider’s values in their daily work with people. Care staff were dedicated, involved in multi-disciplinary meetings and gave ideas to produce better outcomes for people and to achieve some aspirations. All people and professionals said the service encouraged people to achieve exceptional outcomes and extend their abilities. The ethos of the service was believed in and followed by all staff to help people develop their dreams and aspirations and to become more independent. There was a cycle of learning, improving and always striving for the best care and support for people's needs so could be met effectively.

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. People, staff and professionals were complimentary about the registered manager. Staff had the opportunity to develop and received leadership training to help them in their management roles. The management team were genuinely interested and eager to explore the dreams and aspirations of all the people that used their service so they could set about making plans and actions for people to achieve their goals.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.The provider had a clear whistle blowing policy. Staff could raise concerns, and written information was available of how to do this. Staff meetings took place, and staff had the opportunity to share comments and give feedback. People were informed of the complaints procedure when they started to use the service and at meetings.

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They work towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who work for them. Staff told us they were able to ask for reasonable adjustments to be made to their working patterns for specific needs, for example to incorporate family commitments.

The provider ensured the governance was effective and robust, including the monitoring of the quality-of-service provision. The service had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and 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. Regular audits and checks were carried out in the main areas of the service, such as, around care records, health and safety and staff practice. Audits showed action was taken where areas of improvement were identified.

Staff at the service understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services work seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborate for improvement. The management team were positive about their links with local partners and health and social care teams. They expressed an open positive attitude to receiving support and understood how and where they could access support from. All professionals fed back the service worked in partnership with them. Their comments included, “I have always found that when I need anything from the staff, they respond quickly and are knowledgeable and professional.”

There were established links with the community. People were kept very well-informed about events in the service and initiatives in the community. The service and organisation also gave back to the community through various charity initiatives which benefited people who used the service and the local community.
 

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. There was evidence of changes that had been made to the service to make improvements and to address checks and audits outcomes and in response to people and staff feedback. External quality assurance arrangements were in place to monitor the internal governance systems.