Cera - Cumbria

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 71 (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 vision focussed on enabling people to stay in their own homes and supporting people’s independence. The provider felt care and support should be given as and how people wanted it.

The provider shared information and lessons learnt across all regions and branches and this information was cascaded to staff via staff meetings or one to ones. This showed a culture of sharing best practice and learning.

The provider had been proactive in looking at assistive technology options and solutions which may be available to people in the near future. This could lessen the demands on the numbers of staff required for some care packages, which could be of financial benefit to people and local authorities.

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 registered manager was regularly supported by the regional manager either online or face to face.

The registered manager also managed two other services and was able to divide their time accordingly. The registered manager was experienced and skilled and told us they remained committed to providing the best support to people and their families They told us, “I'm for the clients, how can I run a service if I don’t know the service users personally.”

The registered manager also had the support of a care co-ordinator and a field care supervisor in the day to day running of the service.

Staff told us the manager was, “Always there if we need guidance and advice.” They also told us “If I need help or don’t understand anything, I could go to her, and she would try to support the best she could. Will support with anything that we do.”

The registered manager conducted regular spot checks on staff. These were unannounced and were part of an audit plan to ensure the right support and care was being delivered to people.

Where the registered manager had concerns, these had been followed up appropriately with staff members, which included increased supervision, refresher training and further competency checks where necessary.

Most people we spoke to told us they felt the management team were approachable and would listen to them.

One person told us, “The odd time that I have phoned the office, the manager has been OK with me and helped me, which I was glad about.”

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

Staff told us they felt comfortable in raising issues with management and that they would be listened to.

People have also felt able to raise issues or complaints where necessary. These were managed appropriately by the registered manager and across the leadership team. Investigation reports were completed thoroughly and within timescales. Lessons learnt from incidents were shared across the organisation and follow up actions and changes made when required.

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 management team told us they were supportive of equality and diversity within the staff team. All staff completed equality diversity and inclusion training as part of their mandatory training.

The provider offered a wide range of support and wellbeing options for staff. They also offered menopause support. This support had recently won an award as being a menopause friendly employer, the first domically care provider to achieve this. This support also allowed for staff to request reasonable adjustments if required alongside providing opportunities to attend talks, weekly meetings and health and nutrition advice.

Staff had opportunities to complete an online survey to provide feedback. The survey had not been well responded to in the past. The regional manager and registered manager told us they were committed to identifying alternative ways of capturing staff feedback to ensure an increased response rate.

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. Management oversight of the service was not always evident.

The provider had clear lines of accountability and staff, people and their families were aware of who to contact if they had any issues.

Regular audits were undertaken and were used to inform improvements and changes. The registered manager had access to an overall picture of where audits highlighted issues which enabled them to put plans in place to address these. However, there was a lack of management oversight in relation to certain areas of care planning, risk assessments and as and when required medications.

We found evidence that information was appropriately shared with other organisations and agencies and the registered manager was aware of the requirements to submit relevant notifications and concerns to the relevant agencies.

People’s personal data and information was held on secure IT systems and staff had undertaken training on GDPR.

Most people we spoke to told us they felt supported by senior staff. However, some families did not feel the management team were as available as they would like.

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 management team made appropriate referrals to other agencies for example, district nurses, local authority social workers, speech and language therapists and dieticians as required.

Feedback from one of the other agencies told us, “The staff are professional and able to provide information when requested and are available for joint visits.”

Another told us, “Cera Care have a good management infrastructure in place, follow their own internal processes and procedures in terms of dealing with HR matters, complaints and issues that may arise and are very proactive in asking for support and engaging with the Council as and when required.”

The provider had clear links with local commissioners and was involved in regular discussions with them. Feedback from commissioners noted the provider was “very proactive in asking for support and engaging with the Council as and when required.”

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 promoted the use of assistive technology to support people to remain in their own homes.

The office base supported a large training room with facilities to support manual handling training. The provider had access to their own in house trainers who could support with this.

Information from other agencies stated, “The agency seems as though they are able to build good working relationships with service users and appear to provide a good level of care which is reflected in reviews. Management are open to feedback and will work on reported issues.”

The provider operated a care mentor pilot scheme. This involved experienced and knowledgeable carers offering shadowing and mentoring experience to newer members of staff. Each mentor received a financial reward for undertaking this role. Staff had collectively agreed this scheme through their own discussions with the management team. This was a pilot scheme which will be reviewed later this year, however initial feedback from staff indicates they felt this was a positive scheme.