Victoria Home Care Solutions

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. Whilst the management and leadership was not always consistent. leaders and the culture they created always supported the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 68 (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 and team’s ethos was based on open and transparent conversation, with people, relatives, external professionals and each other. There was a strong focus of placing people at the fore of their care and support. One staff member said, “[We’ve] Got a fantastic group of girls [staff], we’re very small but makes the whole experience more personal for the service user and for us getting to know how each other work, and it just rolls.” Everyone we spoke with felt theirs was a culture of inclusivity and that the team understood people’s needs well.

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 openness and honesty.

The registered manager was open and honest with us about the challenges they had experienced and how this had impacted on the management and oversight of the service. However, they demonstrated they were committed to making improvements and recognised where aspects of the business needed work. The staff team had faith in the registered manager and indicated they had the knowledge to lead effectively.

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

People and relatives had no concerns about speaking up. People told us when they had spoken with the registered manager or staff about a problem it had been resolved. One person told us about an issue with a call and an invoice, “I queried it and [registered manager] was really apologetic and sorted it the same day.”

Staff felt confident in speaking up and having conversations with the registered manager which they described as ‘useful’ and ‘open’. One staff member said, “[Registered manager] is very good to put your views to and definitely listens.”

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 had employed a diverse staff team with people of differing ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation and faith. The registered manager said, “I believe that people are worth a chance and should be given a chance.” Staff did not raise any concerns regarding inclusivity or equality.

The provider did not always have clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability or good governance. They did not always act on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes.

The provider had governance systems they had previously used but these had been neglected recently and there was no evidence of current auditing or oversight. The provider gave us assurances that these systems would be reintroduced, as well as additional systems, to check documentation, for example, recruitment records. They also provided us with evidence of their investment in the digital system they used, to increase its functionality and enable them to use the system for reports to support with oversight and identifying issues.

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.

We saw numerous emails and messages which evidenced the provider worked in partnership with external professionals to secure appointments and make referrals for additional support for people. This collaborative approach supported positive outcomes for people.

The provider did not always focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They did not always encourage creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people.

The provider had been through a challenging period of time with the business and hadn’t placed enough focus on reviewing ways of working, identifying areas for improvement and improvement across the service. They indicated the assessment process had been a strong motivator for them to get back on track and promptly sent an improvement plan to the CQC as well as updated documentation to demonstrate actions they had already taken. However, there was nothing about current practice and ways of working that indicated outcomes for people, and their quality of life, had been negatively impacted and people’s feedback supported that they had continued to experience positive outcomes supported by Victoria Home Care Solutions.