Meridian Health and Social Care - Leeds

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 provider. This key question has been rated requires improvement. This meant the management and leadership was inconsistent. Leaders and the culture they created did not always support the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 61 (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 did not always have a clear shared vision, strategy and culture which was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, and engagement. They did not always understand the challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

Systems to engage people, relatives and staff in shaping the service were not consistently embedded.

There was limited evidence of structured opportunities for people using the service or their relatives to formally share their views or contribute to service development. Records did not demonstrate that regular meetings, forums or engagement events had been held, which reduced opportunities for people to influence how care was delivered.

During the inspection, the manager provided supporting evidence demonstrating steps being taken to address this. This included the development of a monthly relatives’ newsletter incorporating a 'You Said, We Did' approach to improve transparency and demonstrate how feedback informs service improvement.

Not all leaders understood the context in which the provider delivered care, treatment and support. They did not always embody the culture and values of their workforce and organisation.

Regular team meetings were not consistently held, reducing opportunities for communication, shared learning and staff engagement. However, systems for staff supervision were in place, providing some level of oversight and support. The manager had put a plan for the year regarding staff meetings to improve communication.

People’s awareness of management was limited. One person told us, “Don’t know the manager,” while another said, “Never seen manager.” A further comment was, “New manager I don’t know her.” The current manager had been in post since January 2026.

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

Staff told us they could raise concerns to the manager. The provider had a Whistleblowing policy in place.

Systems were in place for people and staff to raise concerns, and feedback indicated an open culture. People, relatives and staff felt able to speak up and complaints were appropriately investigated and responded to. One person told us, “I would speak to the staff.” Another said, “I don’t have any complaints at the moment.”

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.

No formal concerns relating to bullying or harassment had been raised. Some staff raised concerns regarding fairness in pay and travel arrangements; these concerns had already been identified by the manager.

The provider did not always have clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability or good governance. They did not always act on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, or share this securely with others when appropriate.

Although audits and monitoring systems were completed, it was not always clear how findings were analysed or used to drive improvement. There was limited evidence that learning was routinely shared across the service.

The manager provided evidence of planned improvements to strengthen governance arrangements. This included the planned introduction of a live quality assurance matrix to enable regular review of incidents, accidents and safeguarding concerns, with the aim of identifying trends and informing preventative actions; however, this had not yet been fully embedded.

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 had developed action plans linked to local authority audits, internal audits and compliance activities. However, it was not always clear whether these plans were consistently reviewed. The manager told us they were working with the local authority within any action plans required.

The manager had engaged with external partners and had been invited to attend a local authority development programme for adult social care managers. This supported professional development and opportunities for partnership working.

The provider did not always focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They did not always encourage creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. They did not always actively contribute to safe, effective practice and research.

Systems to support learning were in place; however, these were not consistently effective in embedding improvement.

Whilst incidents, complaints and safeguarding events were recorded, there was limited evidence of structured analysis or consistent learning outcomes.

During the inspection, the manager provided evidence of measures being put in place to support ongoing improvement. These included the introduction of root cause analysis, a live governance matrix, a ‘Policy of the Month’ initiative, and the implementation of digital alerts within care plans requiring staff acknowledgement. The management team were approachable and demonstrated a clear commitment to continuous learning and improving the service.