MCS 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 of the service since their registration in October 2023. 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 were supported to deliver high quality care and support to people in line with the provider’s values. The nominated individual (person responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider) told us, “We have values around integrity, respect and being outstanding for people. We model these behaviours. We work with our staff to understand these values and how they can model these behaviours themselves.” Managers used spot checks, supervision and staff meetings to check staff’s understanding of their role and to discuss how the provider’s values should be achieved through their working practices.

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.

Managers led effectively. Relatives and staff told us managers were accessible and easy to speak with if they had a query or concerns. A relative said, “They are keen to meet with us and get to know us…They do know me very well now and what is important to us.” A staff member told us, “The communication is brilliant. There is prompt response to queries which is fantastic.” A healthcare professional described managers as, “Extremely responsive and supportive and open for suggestions and change to support the service user and family.” Managers were experienced and undertook continuous learning and development to maintain their skills and knowledge. They had a good understanding of the needs of people using the service and how these should be met through the provision of safe, high quality person-centred care.

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

People were provided with information about how they could report concerns and how these would be dealt with by the provider. The director of nursing told us, “We give people the service user guide and this explains how people can raise concerns. When a package is onboarded, we let people and their families know about the ways they can raise concerns.” Staff felt well supported to speak up if they had any concerns. A staff member said, “For me the way they respond to staff concerns is great. They (managers) always listen to you. I raised a concern last week and immediately they called me and were very supportive.”

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 were treated equally and fairly at work. There were arrangements in place to support all staff to continuously learn and develop in the role. There were opportunities for career progression for staff that wanted this. All staff were provided with relevant training to inform their knowledge and understanding of equality, inclusivity and fairness in the workplace.

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.

Managers used governance systems to regularly check and audit the quality and safety of care and support provided to people. Outcomes from checks and audits were used to make any changes required and support staff to improve their working practices. Managers understood and demonstrated compliance with regulatory requirements. They also understood their responsibility to provide honest information, suitable support and to apply duty of candour where appropriate.

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.

Healthcare professionals had positive experiences of working collaboratively with the service to deliver safe, high-quality care to people. Managers were responsive and followed guidance and recommendations from professionals to support the delivery of people’s care and support. A healthcare professional told us, “They supported a very difficult package with very positive outcomes for the [person using the service].”

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.

Since the service was registered, the provider had made significant changes and improvements to support the delivery of high-quality care and support to people. The nominated individual told us, “The biggest change we have made is to the management structure and to make sure we have the experience in place to manage the kind of service we have. We have improved clinical oversight which is necessary for our complex care cases. But also, the head of operations has brought in experience and support for all the staff. We have also brought in enhancements with our electronic records to give us greater functionality. We have brought in new systems for how we manage staffing and efficiencies. We have also brought in new policies and procedures, and we’ve made sure these reflect the complexity of the service.” Arrangements were in place to obtain feedback from people, their families and staff to help the service learn and improve. Managers used the learning from feedback, along with outcomes from audits and checks, to make improvements to the quality and safety of the care and support provided to people.