Yorhealth (Supported Living) Ltd - Midlands

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 requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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 vision in place which set out how they wanted to support people using person-centered ethos focusing on the unique needs and individuality of each person. Staff worked with people using a person-centered approach and the systems the provider had in place supported this. Staff told us there had been improvements to the service. One staff member said, “The culture has improved, the whole place is more caring now, staff are better supported things are much better now than they were it is a different company. They are getting things right now.” The vision included developing strong relationships with commissioners and having an experienced leadership team. Partners confirmed the provider collaborates constructively with agencies to support people. Leaders told us their strategy was linked to statement of purpose and was about delivering the right care in the right way to people to enhance their life and improve it supporting people to be as independent as they can possibly be with access to the community.

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 provider had a system in place to support leaders which was linked to their governance system. The managers had regular meetings across the roles of manager, coordinator and heads of service to discuss the service. The provider told us this approach gave them good oversight and they had regular reports to the board of directors which enabled them to effectively monitor the service for any developing trends and take action. Staff told us they were happy with the approach from managers in the service who were always accessible to them to offer support. The provider had recruited a manager who was going through the process of registering with the CQC.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Leaders told us they had a whistleblowing policy in place and staff were encouraged to raise any concerns. Staff told us they understood how to raise any concerns and felt able to report to managers or others if they needed to. Relatives told us they were comfortable with raising things to the management team and felt any concerns would be addressed.

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 an equality and diversity policy in place which set out how they would ensure all staff could work in an environment that is free from harassment or discrimination. Leaders told us training in equality and diversity was in place for all staff and this was discussed in supervision with staff. Staff confirmed their knowledge of the policy and felt the provider was inclusive.

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. Staff told us there were systems in place to check on the quality of the service. A staff member told us, “We have a fire safety check, fridge and freezer checks, medicines checks, and finance all done each day. We do a weekly building check, and we can direct concerns to the manager for a response.” The provider told us they used the information from a range of audits undertaken to enhance and improve the quality of the service. There was a system in place to check the accuracy of care plans, medicines administration and health and safety. These systems were identifying where actions were needed and the manager maintained oversight to ensure these were carried out. The board also had oversight through reporting to ensure any trends were identified and actions taken to address this.

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 systems in place to ensure they worked in partnership with other agencies to develop support plans and deliver peoples care and support. Partners told us the provider collaborated with a range of stakeholders, including social workers, healthcare professionals, and safeguarding teams, to ensure holistic and coordinated support for individuals. Records showed staff engaged with other professionals and people’s families to ensure people received coordinated care 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 was focussed on continuous learning. Leaders told us they had applied learning and developed a new care planning system. They described how they used staff forums to share ideas and gather staff views about planned changes and could give examples of how staff had influenced change. Staff made suggestions about how people could be supported more effectively to access doctor appointments. A system had been introduced where people could access their doctor appointments using software and equipment online. Staff told us they felt engaged in developing the service and could give examples of how they had made suggestions for improvements. One staff member told us about changes they had suggested for an outside area of a property which had been put in place. Learning from incidents and accidents was also shared with staff.