Social Care Solutions Ltd (Cambridge)

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.

Staff told us there was a positive culture and demonstrated the staff values. One staff member said about senior staff “They always want the best for people we support and they care about our welfare”. Another staff member told us “It’s a rewarding job; you have to have love for the job. Company has the right values, care and effectiveness, supportive to people and staff”.

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.

Staff had a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities and told us there was a positive culture at the service. The managers and staff knew people they supported well and were clear on their role and responsibilities and the systems and processes in place. People interacted positively with the managers and found them approachable. One relative told us the registered manager was "very knowledgeable". Another told us they contacted the manager if they had a complaint and that it was resolved. Others told us about actions that were taken following raising concerns. The provider has awards for staff to recognise their achievements.

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

People were comfortable raising concerns with staff, and we observed people sharing feedback with managers. One relative told us they were “listened to during care planning meetings.”

The provider had policies and procedures in place for raising concerns and whistleblowing that were shared with staff. Team meeting minutes showed staff were comfortable sharing their feedback and management listened and addressed any concerns. Staff told us managers were supportive and available.

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 did not always have clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability or good governance.
The provider had systems to monitor and improve quality. However, where audits had identified improvements were needed, some were missing actions or actions were not clear or dated when complete. The provider had moved from paper to electronic record keeping, however some documentation including some health and safety checks were still completed on paper. We found environmental, medication storage and infection prevention and control concerns that the provider had not identified themselves.
However, we also saw evidence of actions taken when issues were identified and improvements were needed. Managers had oversight of improvements to make sure changes were effective. Effective and clear plans to follow in an emergency were in place.

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.

Managers had good working relationships with partners including community health professionals and the local authority. We saw evidence of effective partnership working with external professionals and effective information sharing and collaboration to ensure people’s quality of life. For example, for 1 person who’s mental and physical health had deteriorated there were regular review meetings with their psychiatrist, social worker, GP and learning disabilities nurse to discuss their needs and support.

The provider had their own specialist practitioners that staff could refer to for support.

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

The provider worked with people and staff to think of creative ways to improve quality of life for people. They were focused on co-production to develop the service. Staff told us there was a focus on learning new skills and improving their knowledge and understanding. During the assessment the manager responded immediately to feedback by taking appropriate actions and sharing lessons learnt with staff.