Right at Home Eastbourne

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 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. The management team had a clear vision for the future of the service, and this was centred around maintaining and improving the levels of quality care for people. The service had ensured that training programs for staff covered mental health, and supporting people living with autism and learning disabilities, widening the potential scope of people that could be supported by the service. The registered manager fostered an open and supportive culture for staff and one that was inclusive and informative. All staff we spoke with told us of a culture of openness among the managers and an office they all felt comfortable visiting to get support for themselves if needed. Comments from staff included, “It’s well organised, well managed, caring, very supportive with personal issues and with clients,” and “Love the fact that it’s a fantastic care company with great training and the community they make means clients and carers feel we are all working together.”

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 told us that they strove to be approachable and inclusive with staff. They told us, “We have an open door policy, staff are welcome to come and see us at any time,” Staff told us they found the registered manager and wider management team, supportive and approachable. Comments included, “Best care agency I have worked in, and I’ve worked in quite a few. They are so supportive. It is a small office, but you can raise anything and it is kept confidential. They don’t gossip, it’s so nice but I have not had anything to be concerned about,” and “Very supportive.”

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

Staff understood the whistle-blowing policy and told us they would report any concerns to the registered manager or senior staff. They told us that the recent engagement with the nominated individual had given them confidence to also approach them with any concerns. There was information displayed throughout the office which included details of where staff could raise concerns outside of the organisation. Staff were confident any issues raised would be addressed. The registered manager told us staff were able to contact the provider or managers for guidance and support at any time. One staff member said, “They do a work buzz survey. It’s sent out confidentially and we all fill it in if we have any issues, we can raise or give suggestions if we think anything could be done better. They are always striving to do better. The most recent survey scored really high.”

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.

Staff equality and diversity was valued. Staff received training in equality and diversity. They were encouraged to share concerns and ideas through day-to-day discussions and supervisions. One staff member said, “Supervision is every 6 months, and we also have 12 weekly spot checks unannounced, they just appear to do the check.” The registered manager supported all staff to ensure they were not at risk of unfair treatment and discrimination due to their background or culture. Staff told us they felt valued and everyone worked well together. They said their individual needs and culture were respected.

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. Auditing processes were in place overseen by the registered manager. Some were reviewed as an ongoing process each day for example training and medicines. There were systems in place that showed the management team when training was due and then completed, allowing them to have oversight and to prompt staff when training was due. Care plans and risk assessments were reviewed regularly. This would be done sooner if care and support needs changed, following an incident for example, a fall or change in medication or following a stay in hospital. People’s visits were monitored and the staff logged in on arrival to the person using a QR code and then logged out on leaving. This was used to monitor travel times and staff safety. One staff member said, “If I was at a service 15 minutes too long the agency would ring/text to see if there was a problem and to check, I was ok. They will always check and manage appropriately.”

Staff told us about their duties and responsibilities; they told us how they managed risk and reported concerns to management. Managers and staff understood their roles, and were clear about quality performance, risks and regulatory requirements. There were checks and audits in place to monitor quality and safety. Action was taken when audits identified areas for improvement. We have received actions plans/improvement plans which have been updated during the assessment process.

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 registered manager told us of positive relationships with relatives and advocates where lines of communication were open and accessible. The service was pro-active in their support for local dementia charities and staff supported the charities with fund raising, and ongoing participation in its work. Relatives told us they could contact the office whenever they needed to for additional support and advice and that help was always available. The service also supported people to attend lunch clubs and other activities in the local community. Professionals that worked closely with the service similarly reported strong working relationships. Comments from professionals included, “Care workers are diligent, and know people really well,” and “Our relationship with the agency is positive, they keep us informed of changes which means we can respond appropriately in a timely way.”

The provider had a strong focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They always 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 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 registered manager kept themselves up to date with developments in adult social care and attended meetings regarding the organisation and with other registered managers to share good practice. They also kept up to date with changes in practice and policy. Contingency and improvement plans were in place and there was an ethos of learning at the service, when things went wrong or when there were successes of good practice and outcomes, these were all documented and shared with staff.
Case studies were being undertaken which highlighted the persons journey with the service, it looked at how things had progressed, and the goals attained. These were shared with all staff as part of the learning programme. The case studies provided what staff had learned from the journey and how going forward it will be used to improve care