Lancaster & Morecambe Domiciliary Service

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.

At our last assessment we rated this key question Good. At this assessment the rating has remained 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 providers’ policies and procedures clearly reflected all the elements of Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture. This helped ensure people were supported by staff and leaders who shared a clear value based and person-centred culture.

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.

Leaders had created a compassionate and caring culture across the service. Leaders were clear about the organisations values which they embodied and helped to embed across the service. Staff praised both their colleagues and leaders and told us they felt supported by compassionate and caring leaders. All staff we asked, told us they felt valued and respected at work.

Leaders often visited people in the tenancies, and we saw people supported looked pleased to see all staff and leaders when we visited.

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

The provider’s policies and procedures encouraged people to share their views and raise concerns in a transparent manner. People had a variety of opportunities to speak up and make their views known. Staff were confident they could speak up if they needed to and felt they could always rely on the leadership team to listen and respond. Information about how to speak up, including safeguarding contacts were available to people, staff and visitors. Leaders were open and responsive throughout the inspection process.

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’s recruitment policies and procedures helped ensure staff experienced equitable treatment. Recruitment records included important information about staff’s experience and cultural backgrounds. Staff had received training in relation to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and told us they felt respected and valued at work.

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. We found though they usually acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes some improvement was needed to ensure managers had oversight and responded to safety events.

The leadership team and staff were clear about their roles and what was expected of them. Procedures were in place to support managers oversight of the service, but these had not always been followed consistently. Oversight of risks related to nutrition and hydration had not included clear guidance to alert leaders to low intake. We were assured during this inspection that this had now been addressed.

Safety events had been responded to but had not always been notified to the appropriate agencies. We were assured this had now been addressed.

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.

The provider, staff and leaders worked in partnership with other agencies involved in people’s care which helped ensure they had consistent and effective experiences. The provider was the local authority which meant the service had access to a broad range of expertise and support.

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.

The provider, leaders and staff were committed to learning, improvement and innovation. The supported living service has developed over many years to fully embody a positive culture which values people and embraces new approaches which promote people’s quality of life and experiences.