GoodOaks Homecare - Epsom and Reigate

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 newly registered service. This key question has been rated outstanding. This meant service leadership was exceptional and distinctive. Leaders and the culture they created drove and improved high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 89 (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 very clear shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and an exceptional understanding of the challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

Staff understood their role, what was expected of them, were happy in their work, were motivated and had confidence in the way the service is managed. There were systems in place to make sure high standards of care were delivered. The PIR stated, ‘We will always aim to prioritise ensuring that staff who are brought onboard embody GoodOaks' P.R.I.D.E values - Professionalism, Respect, Integrity, Dedication and Empathy.’ One external professional told us,

The staff were able to describe the values, and we saw that they used them in practice through the way people and relatives fed back about the care they provided. One member of staff said, “I do enjoy the job, it’s good to be with people and getting to know their lives and be part of health care. It’s a (the job) good fit for me.”

Staff feel respected and empowered, resulting in lower turnover of staff, high morale, and a genuine pride in their work. The provider told us they took a proactive approach to identifying and managing risks to delivering the service, including challenges with recruiting and retaining staff. The provider told us, “We developed a clear strategic action plan focused on workforce sustainability. Early outcomes have been positive, with successful recruitment of local care professionals, including individuals with strong professional backgrounds such as a former paramedic. This demonstrates improved attractiveness of the roles and alignment with our strategic objectives.”

The service had a culture which was positive, open and inclusive. The people who used the service were at the heart of everything they did. It was clear throughout the visit that the provider, registered manager and staff that worked at the service were passionate about delivering good quality care. They impressed upon us that each person using the service were treated as if they were family. This was evident to us with the feedback people and relatives gave to the service which included, ‘You are such a friendly, caring, kind and supportive team who provided everything I needed on my journey to recovery’ and ‘This is my first experience using a care company for both support and live-in care. From the beginning it has been the absolute very best we could hope for. The level of care is outstanding.’

The registered manager told us, “Our key values are the P.R.I.D.E values, we push this. We are going to make mistakes at some point but acknowledging that is important. We want everyone to be professional and having the empathy and putting yourselves in their shoes. Instilling those values in everything that we do. It’s making sure the clients feels the impact of the values.” An external professional told us, “GoodOaks were one of the most responsive providers I worked with. Their office team and management were accessible, professional, and proactive in their communication.”

The provider had exceptionally 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 always did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

The service had a clear staffing structure with designated roles and responsibilities. Leaders were experienced and passionate in delivering person centre care to a high standard. This was evident in the feedback from people and their families with comments including, ‘I'm incredibly grateful for the support and care provided by GoodOaks. From the start, their team has been professional, helpful attentive, always willing to go the extra mile’ and ‘Their dedication and exceptional service have made a challenging time much easier to navigate.’ The registered manager and provider gave examples of where they had visited people outside of the arranged care calls to provide support to them. One person fed back, “If I feel worried about anything, I know I can call [provider and registered manager]. They are understanding when I am worried.”

All staff received formal supervision and the people who used the service fed back on the performance of the staff on a regular basis. Supervisions were an opportunity for staff to spend time with a member of the management team to discuss their work and highlight any training or development needs. There was also a chance for any poor practice or concerns to be addressed. The registered manager and provider gave us examples where they had used their internal procedures to address issues where the staff member's standards had fallen

below what was expected by the agency. An external professional told us, “Based on my professional experience, I would consider GoodOaks Homecare – Epsom and Reigate to be an exceptionally well-run service that consistently delivered high-quality, safe, and compassionate care.

The provider set up an in-house bespoke training room to help the staff with their manualhandling practical training, areas that are covered are hoisting, handling belts, glide sheets, hoist slings and transfer boards. Staff appreciated having more hands-on training in these areas. One member of staff said, “I can’t fault them. They have been a very supportive team.” The registered manager told us, “I have been very lucky, we are small and (the provider) is very hands on. We (them and the provider) have a very good relationship; I can call him whenever. I have the luxury of head office, so we have a support team up there as well."

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

Systems were in place for staff to use in speaking up including, supervisions, staff meetings and surveys. Comments from staff included, “I would Whistle blow, I wouldn’t hesitate. I would talk to [registered manager]” and “I feel comfortable and confident to raise any concerns” and “They always tell us to raise any issues, so I feel happy to do it. Even in team meetings they always ask if we have anything to raise and if we are happy.”

The registered manager told us, “Everybody knows we have an open-door policy and if they want to come in for a chat they know we will be there. I am more than happy for them to whistle blow. I will protect staff and ensure its kept confidential. It’s making sure they know they will be heard.” A member of staff said, “I am quite happy with the support they give me and feel confident to speak up and have my point of view listened to.”

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.

The provider had an equality and diversity policy which underpinned equitable treatment of service users and staff. One member of staff said, “They consider I don’t drive so don’t give me a route I can’t reach. They make me feel valued. They are really brilliant.” The registered manager told us, “With the equalities it could be their race, gender or disability. One carer told us they were dyslexic so we said they could use the ‘dictate’ method for their notes. People may feedback that one member of staff may have been abrupt with their colleague. We don’t tolerate it at all from the clients as well.”

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. A member of staff told us, “It’s well organised and everything is planned out really well.”

Quality assurance arrangements were robust and the need to provide a quality service was fundamental and understood by all staff. There were a number of systems in place to make sure the service assessed and monitored its delivery of care. Various audits were carried out such as care note audits, care plan audits and medicine audits. The registered manager would discuss any shortfalls with staff and record this in the event that this needed to be raised again.

The registered manager told us regarding ensuring staff stayed for the full length of the call, “We keep an eye on that, every week we double check and have a look, if we think they are call clipping we will bring staff in. We do regular messages to all staff to make sure of people insist they leave the call early then they must record that.” One external professional told us, “Their approach reflected a mature and well-governed service, and I had full confidence in their ability to manage risk appropriately and escalate concerns when required.”

Services that provide health and social care to people are required to inform the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of important events that happen in the service. The registered manager was aware of their responsibility to inform the CQC of significant events including significant incidents and safeguarding concerns.

The provider clearly understood and carried out their duty to collaborate and worked in partnership, and services worked seamlessly for people. They always shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

The service worked in partnership with other professionals and had positive working relationships. People were always at the centre, with a focus on the staff team and wider network providing a consistent and effective approach. Regular multi-disciplinary meetings were held to ensure information was shared and communicated. This enabled prompt changes in people’s care to occur when needed. One external professional told us, “GoodOaks demonstrated a strong and proactive safety culture. Communication from both their coordination team and management was clear, timely, and transparent. They were highly responsive to enquiries and demonstrated a strong sense of accountability.”

Leaders had also created a useful guide for people and their families to the local services, clubs and organisations. This included health services, home monitoring, mobility services, advice services, support for unpaid carers, services for blind or partially sighted people, services for people with memory impairments, dementia books and other local support services.

On the Provider’s Information Return (PIR) they stated, ‘It is vitally important to have a working collaboration with other specialist services such as GPs, Nurse Practitioners, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, District Nurses and hospice community support teams.’ The provider told us of a ‘You Are Not Alone campaign’ initiative they were involved with. They told us this was about reassuring families that support, guidance, and trusted information are always within reach. They stated in the information they provided us, ‘As part of this campaign, GoodOaks Homecare Epsom and Reigate hosted a stall at the Ashtead Village Fair, where the team spent the day engaging with local residents and raising awareness of the key considerations people face when caring for elderly relatives.’

The provider had a strong focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They always encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. They actively contributed to safe, effective practice and research.

The provider, registered manager, leadership team and staffs approach continually reviewed and measured the impact, through outcomes, of the service they delivered. All parties’ views were regularly sought to drive improvement, and staff were supported to gain experience through training and opportunities to widen their knowledge. Staff were encouraged to undertake vocational qualifications in care.

A paperless service along with streamlined technology enabled people, their relatives and staff to have access to care records and information in real time. The secure online ‘App’ was consistently praised by people’s relatives and staff as being an effective source of information and facilitated good communication. A representative from the provider’s head office also made us aware of GoodOaks being one of the first UK homecare companies to become carbon neutral. In the event that staff were unable to access people’s electronic records, there were hard copies of the care plans in each person’s home.

Leaders and staff were passionate about driving improvements. The provider told us, “I want to know about every single complaint. We can see trends whether it’s about carer conduct. Whether we have triggered Duty of Candor. (The duty of candour in care is a legal and professional requirement for health and social care providers to be open, honest, and transparent with patients or their families when something goes wrong that causes or has the potential to cause harm). We look at trends and see that its most about conduct. We have changed the induction to include more around professionalism.” The registered manager told us, “We have a regular registered manager meetings with other managers. It’s sharing that good practice. We have a managers (online app) channel so we can pick brains. I also have a regular meeting from the support team.”

People and their relatives were overwhelmingly positive in their feedback about the service and would continue to recommend the service. Comments included, “I highly recommend GoodOaks to anyone in need of care giving services. Their dedication and exceptional service have made a challenging time much easier to navigate”, “We are profoundly grateful for their support and wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone in need of personal care services for their loved ones” and “I would have no problem recommending GoodOaks with the highest of praise. I particularly would like to acknowledge the professionalism and support given by the management team.”