Zara Healthcare

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 was our first assessment of Zara Healthcare Ltd and we rated it good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led

This service scored 79 (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.

There was a strong culture within this service with staff enjoying their role and feeling well supported. There was effective leadership, with strong presence and oversight. The registered manager being able to draw on their own and others experiences to ensure the service continued to develop and thrive.

The registered manager ensured there was a positive culture and staff shared their learning and development with reflective practice and discussion after training to share ideas. There was a sense that staff got on well and trusted in the leadership which they said was accessible. Daily meetings took place with staff and there was clear learning and reflective on good practice like considering CQC reports to become familiar with the standards and outcomes

expected. Staff knew about legislation and best practice which they implemented into their work

practice.

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. People were happy with the service and could not think of improvements necessary. One person said, “It all runs smoothly; they couldn’t do any better. I’d rather them than anybody else and I know some other services don’t get near their standards. I would recommend them –and I have done. Recently someone else in the community where I live was looking. I told them about [service name] and they’ve started with them and are quite happy and satisfied as well. I trust them and the manager.”

The quality assurance manager told us how they supported the registered manager and the support they had around them. This included contact with other managers and providers and promoting a positive work life balance. Staff meetings ensured staff could offload and discuss improvements, changes and reflect on what was working well. We noted changes made as a result of feedback such as rearranging care calls to reduce travel. Staff demonstrated a caring empathic approach talking about how they support and promote people's well-being and safety.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Staff told us that they felt fairly treated, and that they were confident that where they raised concerns, these would be dealt with by the provider.

Staffs’ knowledge of safeguarding and whistleblowing were firmly embedded. A staff member told us about reporting concerns appropriately and raising concerns about unsafe practices within the organisation. One member of staff said, “If I witnessed something like a colleague roughly handling a client I would report it immediately, record the facts accurately with dates, times and exactly what was said or observed, I will keep the information confidential, following organisational procedures, and take any necessary action to ensure the person’s safety.” Staff said they would raise concerns and were familiar with the whistleblowing process and the registered manager asked staff if they had any concerns. People told us they felt safe, trusted carers and able to raise anything and when they had this had been 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 and registered manager had fair recruitment processes and although they did try and recruit from local populations had found this difficult particularly recruiting staff who were willing to work the hours required. Whilst the manager did adjust the rota where they could they did prioritise the needs of the people using the service.

Policies helped ensure staff knew what their roles were and how to keep people safe. Staff had ready access to key policies such as the: medication policy, the whistle blowing policy and safeguarding policy and staff showed a good understanding of these.

From the feedback it was clear satisfaction was high with one person and their relative telling us: “There’s nothing that could be improved. They’re perfectly efficient and we’re both happy.”

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

Whilst this service had been running for a few years, strategic growth had been slow due to the limitations of staff recruitment. The manager had reasonable expectations and did not want to compromise on the quality of what they did and sought advice from external consultants to ensure the oversight of the service was robust. As a skilled professional the manager reached out to other skilled professionals for support and advice and worked closely with other services to improve what they did. Audits were robust and the care delivery was seamless.

People expressed their satisfaction and gratification for the service provided. Two people told us respectively: “They couldn’t do better, I can’t think of anything at all. I’ve nothing to add to that and yes, I would recommend them (emphatically).” And another said, “They couldn’t improve, I’m really happy. I would recommend them to other people 100%. They’ve changed our lives for the better.”

There was clear oversight of risk management and improvement ensuring peoples voices were central to any forward planning and development of the service and staff felt proud to work for the service which they considered inclusive. Staff emphasized the important of protecting people’s rights and upholding their dignity. A staff member told us, “At Zara Health Care, the culture is person-centred, inclusive, and respectful.” A health care professional said, ‘I have nothing but praise for this company’, “This was one of few care teams who were always happy to take on the most complex of patients on discharge. They appear to have gone above and beyond with obtaining additional training to manage a wide variety of needs.” Another professional said in my experience, the manager has always been caring and professional and has always had the best interests and safety of our mutual patient/client at heart. The provider and its representatives worked with health and social partnerships to stay ahead of good practice and required regulation and to continue to be a leading light in their field.

A staff member providing consultancy and carrying out assessments told us, “I have worked extensively within multidisciplinary teams, collaborating with consultants, occupational therapists, psychologists, speech and language therapists, dietitians, physiotherapists, and intensive dementia support teams. This has strengthened my ability to coordinate complex care, contribute to safeguarding processes, and ensure continuity and quality of care across services.” This assured us that care was well planned, coordinated and delivered to the highest standard. Any shortfalls were quickly identified and rectified. For example, one relative had a concern about staffs manual handling practices which was on feedback to the manager immediately responded to in the most robust way, with clear actions and lessons learnt.

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 manager was an effective communicator and had a strong management team and good oversight of the service. Training provided to staff was in line with people’s assessed needs and the manager had a can-do attitude comfortable in the skills they had and external support they could tap into. There was good partnership working across different sectors and tapping into training and shared resources. A small staff team were in place which meant continuity and daily contact with staff helped to focus on the immediate concerns or adaptations needed. Care plans showed how needs were identified and responded to. Everyone spoken with were happy with this service.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation, and improvement across the organisation and local system.

Digitized records were accessible, up to date and informative. Staff training was at 100 percent and staff had learning and training opportunities. Reflective practice helped staff grow and develop and staff spoke about increasing confidence. Links with other agencies and services helped to ensure staff had access to the support they needed and polices underpinning good practice were accessible and accurate.