Voyage (DCA) Rotherham

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• 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 service promoted a positive and inclusive culture, with a strong focus on helping people with a learning disability and autistic people live fulfilling lives. Staff understood the importance of promoting people’s independence, respecting their choices and supporting them to achieve their goals. This helped create a culture where people’s views were valued and staff worked towards shared goals to improve people’s experiences of care.

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 had a supporting and approachable management team who promoted a positive culture. Leaders understood people’s individual needs and encouraged staff to provide safe, person-centred care. Staff spoke positively about the leadership team and felt confident seeking advice and raising concerns. A staff member told us, “I feel the service is well led, we have dedicated staff who care about individuals’ wellbeing. I am happy with all the leadership and find them approachable, knowledgeable, encouraging and work in line with agreed ways of working and legislation.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Staff understood the service’s whistleblowing procedures and knew how to report concerns about people’s safety or poor practice. Staff we spoke with felt confident raising concerns and told us they could speak openly without fear or negative consequences. This promoted a culture of openness where staff felt listened to and supported to speak up.

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 promoted an inclusive and supportive working environment where staff felt valued and respected. Staff received equality and diversity training to help them understand and respect individual differences. We spoke with a staff member who shared their positive experience of being supported by the management team to return to work through a phased return. They described the support they had received and the positive difference this had made to their experience 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. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate. Regular audits and checks covered areas including medicines, care plans, risk assessments and the safety of people’s home environments. The management team had good oversight of the service and took action when improvements were needed. During our assessment, leaders responded promptly to concerns identified with medicines management and took steps to address them. Care records were detailed and reviewed regularly. These systems helped leaders identify areas for improvement and maintain safe standards of care.

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 service worked closely with health and social care professionals to ensure people received joined-up care and support. Staff shared information with relevant professionals and worked together to meet people’s changing needs. People were supported to maintain relationships with family and friends and take part in activities within their local communities.

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. Managers used audits, feedback and lessons learned from incidents to identify areas for improvement. Staff were encouraged to share ideas and contribute to changes in practice. We saw examples of the service responding promptly to concerns raised during our assessment and taking action to improve medicines management. The service worked closely with the local authority to maintain good practice standards and work on any areas of improvement.