Wiltshire Base

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 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.

The provider had a set of values and standards they expected from staff delivering care. These were shared with staff during induction, and they also formed part of ongoing discussions during meetings and supervisions. The registered manager said, “They [staff] need to understand who we are, what we stand for and what we expect of them. Staff represent our company and we need to share how we expect them to conduct themselves.”

Staff we spoke with all enjoyed their work. Comments from staff included, “I enjoy it, it is my passion and I do it with love and care” and “I love the reward when you support someone and the relationship you build.”

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.

The service was managed by a registered manager and the nominated individual who was the provider. People and relatives knew who management were and staff said they were approachable and the service was well managed. One member of staff said, “Management are good, you can call any time and they pick up. They are very supportive. I feel valued and they are appreciative in meetings. They tell you when you have done a great job.”

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

The service had a whistleblowing policy and process. Information about sharing concerns was available on posters in the office. The provider told us they were an open and transparent service and encouraged staff to speak up or share any concerns. The provider said, “We are an open culture, we have that within our organisation, and we encourage staff to ask questions.”

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 ensured staff completed training on equality and diversity when they started work. There were policies and procedures to make sure staff had an inclusive environment at work. An external company was employed to support leaders with human resource (HR) advice, guidance and systems.

Staff said they had not experienced any discrimination, and the organisation was a good place to work. One member of staff said, “I feel absolutely valued and respected. We are a diverse organisation, and I have never noticed any discrimination. I am very happy.”

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 provider had effective quality assurance systems which helped to identify where improvement could be made. People and relatives were regularly contacted for their feedback and asked to complete quality surveys. Records demonstrated people and relatives were very happy with the care they received.

Leaders also carried out unannounced spot checks on staff in people’s homes. This enabled the provider to check if staff were arriving on time and if they were following safe ways of working. Whilst completing these checks the provider also spoke with people and checked they were satisfied with their care worker and how the service was working for them.

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.

People’s care records demonstrated leaders were in touch with many different healthcare professionals. Referrals were made in a timely way and leaders acted for people to make sure they had access to the care they needed. For example, for 1 person leaders referred them to the dementia specialist team. This helped the person get specialist support for their health condition.

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 said they were open to learning and development from any source. They recognised how important learning was and tried new ways of working to make improvements. The registered manager said, “We get information from CQC, and I do a lot of reading. I attend webinars and conferences, and we have a provider platform managed by the local authority. This enables us to discuss changes to things like regulations.”