Blossom Home Care Poole

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 service 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. Everyone was committed to the service and providing the best care. The service mission was, “Just Bloomin’ Good Care” with the key elements being passionate, respectful, caring, patient, confident. The provider told us how their aim was to deliver high-level person-centred care and to be a provider they could be proud of. The provider continued to tell us, “We are our authentic selves and we want to build a fantastic domiciliary service and our team to continue to be proud of working at Blossom Home Care. There was a clear purpose to support people to return to their homes from hospital and gain their independence and confidence. Blossom Home Care told us they wanted to give people the opportunity to return home instead of requiring alternative care arrangements and to thrive in their own environments.

The service 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 were supported by staff and a provider where the leadership was inclusive and delivered with integrity. The provider told us it was important for them to understand people’s needs, ensuring the service put people first and knew what they needed from their life. Health and social care professionals were complimentary about the leadership of the service. A professional told us, “The management team are always effective and respond clearly.” Another professional agreed, and said, “They are a fabulous care agency, run by honest and very experienced leaders who care.” The provider created an inclusive and highly supportive environment where staff were enabled to provide compassionate, responsive and effective care. We received positive feedback about the management of the service. One staff member said, “Blossom Home Care is a very professional and caring team from management to us staff. I am so happy I work for them." Another staff member said, “It’s the most appreciated I’ve felt in a job role.”

The service fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.People and their relatives were provided with various ways to give their views on the service. They told us they were happy to speak with staff or the manager to address any concerns. A person told us, “Everything is going rather well. A supervisor comes round every now and then and checks everything over.” A relative agreed, and told us, “Concerns and feedback are listened to and acted on. I can pick the phone up and call Blossom and they deal with it immediately.” The provider had a whistle blowing policy and staff were comfortable raising concerns if they needed to. Staff had confidence that leaders would take appropriate actions to ensure people were safe and received a good service. Leaders operated an open-door policy where staff and people could access them whenever they needed to. One staff member said, “We have different ways to contact the office, I am very confident concerns would be dealt with and the transparency and accountability is very good.”

The service 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 felt accepted by their colleagues and the provider. A staff member said, “Although we work independently a lot of the time, I feel part of the wider team. Communication from the office is good and I know I can contact colleagues or management if I need support.” Staff preferences and individual circumstances were considered and supported. Management offered staff flexible working opportunities to enable them to experience a good work-life balance. Equality, diversity and inclusion underpinned all policies and procedures.

The service 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 act on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and share this securely with others when appropriate. Governance systems were operating effectively which enabled the provider and manager to have oversight of the service. The provider always acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate. Leaders demonstrated commitment across the service to good practice, service performance and risk management. Staff were engaged with processes and used these systems effectively, addressing problems openly and swiftly through collaborative and responsive leadership. Spot checks took place to support staff in delivering high quality care and to ensure any learning was identified and actioned.

The service understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services work seamlessly for people. They share information and learning with partners and collaborate for improvement. The provider shared information and worked with a wide range of professionals and services to support people in their own homes. We received positive feedback from external stakeholders and professionals who worked alongside the service. One health and social care professional said, “Blossom Home Care provides a reliable and person-centred service. They demonstrate a commitment to safety, appropriate care delivery, and professional collaboration.” The provider told us about various community and local ties, this included working alongside other health and social care providers to support joined up care provision for people and working with local colleges and organisations to encourage people in careers in care. The provider often organised fundraising for charities and local community organisations. People who received care and support from Blossom Home Care were given the opportunities to be involved in these events. The provider told us they valued strong partnership working and felt the service had good relationships with external professionals.

The service 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 contribute to safe, effective practice and research. The manager and provider told us about the ways in which they were continually looking to improve the service. This included being proactive in identifying any shortfalls through their audits and checks. One improvement was introducing “champions”. The champion programme would allocate a staff member a specific area, such as skin integrity, end of life planning and use their skills and knowledge to improve these areas within the wider team. The provider also described plans to introduce a new electronic care planning system. This decision was made after recognising the existing system was not as streamlined as the service required it to be. This demonstrated a forward-thinking approach to innovation and improvement. The provider also planned to enhance their training programme further, creating more workshops to support on-going learning and development.