1 Homecare Bradford

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 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 good understanding of people, staff and local partner organisations. This was evidenced throughout care plans, engagement with partner organisations, in staff meeting minutes as well as supervision records. The approach was consistent and considered people’s individual needs as well as support for staff.

One person told us, “It is well run. They have staff meetings every morning, so the staff know what they are doing in advance. They are easy to approach, easy to talk to, I give them 10/10.”

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.

Feedback from people, families and staff was positive about leadership and management. People said if they contacted the office, for example to change their schedule, this was accommodated. Families said they were happy with management who were available to talk to them.

Staff gave us several examples of how they had needed some flexibility for different reasons, and this was agreed. Some staff said that they were left to get on with their work without interference, but they were aware managers called people to check they were happy with their care. Most staff liked this hands-off approach as they felt trusted, others said that they would like more frequent contact to be assured that they were doing a great job.

One staff member told us, “Managers are very good, if any concerns raised managers come back to me quickly, they are very good and friendly towards me.”

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

Staff were able to tell us about speaking up and whistle blowing but said that they had not felt the need to do this.Staff communicated they felt at ease raising issues with management. They said they were listened to and action was taken because of them sharing ideas or concerns.Staff told us that their confidentiality was respected and they trusted management. Staff said that they were trusted to deal with any issues that cropped up when caring for people but knew support was available from management if they needed it.

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 robust policies in place in relation to workforce diversity and inclusion. This was reflected in staff recruitment files, records of supervisions and staff meeting notes. In addition, staff told us they felt treated equally in terms of protected characteristics.

Some new staff felt that they could be given more stretching opportunities sooner. However, the manager explained it was part of the induction process to assign roles to newer staff with lower risk, or they would work with more experienced staff initially. They said that although a staff member may be experienced in the sector, they needed to apply induction equally to ensure people received consistent good standards of care.

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 robust quality assurance systems in place to ensure management oversight. This included audits and checks, in addition to a high standard applied to care plans, staff rotas, recruitment processes and mandatory checks. The provider worked well in partnership with the Local Authority and NHS teams, building their reputation as a relatively new service.

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.

Stakeholder organisations including NHS teams, the Local Authority and other groups such as Healthwatch were approached for feedback regarding the provider. All responded positively with Healthwatch noting that no concerns had been raised by the public about the provider.

People and staff highlighted a good working relationship with the district nursing team which helped people have consistent care and support.

Office staffwere commended by people and staff as contributing to the service being well-organised. A staff member told us, “They try best as possible to accommodate what people want. There is constant communication between office and care staff as well as other professionals, GP, social workers and families.”

One staff member told us, “I have worked in the care sector nearly 18 years, now really enjoying the work with this service. Looking to develop the service further around social care, how they can link with the community more and events to bring people [living alone] together, for example developing newsletters, celebrating birthdays, employee of the month. [I am] Happy with the way things are going nothing I would change currently.”

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.

Documents relating to organisational learning and development, such as, evidence of learning from incidents, complaints handling, as well as staff interactions in meetings, at training events and in supervisions, indicated a good level of consistency, thought and consideration.

Staff told us that they felt able to contribute new ideas for consideration either in team meetings or in supervisions and one-to-one chats with management.