My Homecare Crowborough

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 registered manager 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 were adopting new training programs for staff to cover 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.

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 all support each other, this filters out to the whole team and we have an open door policy.” Staff told us they found the registered manager and wider management team, supportive and approachable. Comments included, “Managers are 100% supportive. They are really good. If you have a problem and sort out any problem” and “Very supportive, they always respond to emails the same day.” Another staff member told us of a condition they had that resulted in them unexpectedly feeling unwell and requiring short periods of time away from work. They told us the registered manager was supportive and followed up by introducing a policy that supported them and any other staff that may find themselves with the same condition.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Staff told us they had various ways of speaking to managers and reporting concerns, highlighting good practice and discussing personal issues if required. Team meetings were held regularly. Due to the size of the service team meetings covered staff working in specific geographic areas but everyone told us they could speak up if they needed to. Recently at a team meeting a training request was made by some staff and this was immediately actioned by managers. Some staff told us that for various reasons they could not attend meetings in person but that they could still email in questions or topics to be raised and then would receive copies of the meeting minutes and actions. Staff had regular supervision meetings were they could discuss issues one to one and in confidence. Every day there was an office meeting where the previous 24 hours were reviewed and any issues of concerns were addressed and information passed on to carers if needed.

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 registered manager employed a diverse workforce with many religious and cultural differences represented. Equal opportunities and diversity and inclusion policies were in place for guidance and to support staff. Staff told us they felt supported at work and that they enjoyed working as part of a diverse team where difference was acknowledged and celebrated. Comments for staff included, “People’s diversity needs are looked out for,” “Different cultures are all over. It’s my homecare family. Fully supported, we love everyone” and “We know who we can contact and they will support us and make everything safe for people.” The registered manager added, “Staff support, very much so. Some carers can’t work for religious reasons we work around that. A couple celebrate Eid and we support them not to work when fasting. Another had a family issue but had used all of their annual leave. We worked around it and were able to manage their time off.”

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. Master spreadsheets were colour coded and showed the manager when training was due and then completed allowing them to have oversight and to prompt staff when training was due. Similarly with daily medicine administration, if medicines were missed or administered late this would flag on a central spreadsheet enabling double checking and further prompts as required. Care plans and risk assessments were reviewed every 6 months. 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. Some mental capacity assessments had been completed but these did require a thorough review as several people were living with dementia at different stages of progress. This was discussed with the registered manager and a review was immediately put 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. The registered manager told us of positive relationships with relatives and advocates where lines of communication were open and accessible. Relatives told us they could contact the office whenever they needed to for additional support and advice and that help was always available. One relative told us about an early hospital appointment and that the service adjusted the care call times to fit in and get their loved one ready for their appointment. 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 have gone above and beyond when supporting (person) including contacting external agencies such as British Gas, GP surgery, arranging transport, participating in professional and best interest meetings” and “It is a pleasure to work jointly with this establishment to provide the best care for each individual.”

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 forums for registered managers and 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 and identified good practice, these were all documented and shared with staff.