Wisteria Care

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 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 provider had established a positive culture that was person-centred, inclusive, responsive, nurturing and empowering. Managers and staff we spoke with, demonstrated a good understanding of equality, diversity and human rights, and explained how they prioritised safe, high-quality, compassionate care. Managers shaped the culture by engaging with staff, people, their relatives and others important to them, and with other stakeholders. They told us they genuinely welcomed feedback, even if it was critical, and demonstrated what action had been taken in response. People were involved in or consulted about reviews of concerns, accidents, incidents and adverse events and in planning to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Staff demonstrated an understanding of the provider’s values in their day-to-day interactions. Relationships between staff and people were respectful, and there was evidence that people were treated with dignity and kindness. Systems were in place to support openness, including opportunities for staff to raise concerns, share feedback and contribute to service development.

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.

Wisteria Care had recently gone through a period of change in the management structure. The new manager was in the process of applying to be the registered manager with CQC.

People and relatives spoke positively about the leadership of the service and how it was managed. They consistently described the management team as approachable, supportive and responsive. They told us communication was good and felt any concerns or issues would be addressed appropriately. Comments included, “Wisteria Care is really good and well run. Management are keen to help both of us, always polite and listen” and “I have noticed a vast improvement in the company in the last few months especially with communication”.

Leaders understood the challenges of delivering care across multiple locations and supporting lone workers. They were visible and approachable and provided guidance when staff needed support. There were suitable policies and procedures that reflected best practice and legislation.

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

There was an open and approachable culture, where staff, people and relatives felt confident raising concerns or sharing feedback. The provider created opportunities for people and staff to share their views through regular discussions, supervision sessions and team meetings. There was information on whistleblowing and safeguarding available in ‘Staff Handbook’. Staff knew how to speak up and raise concerns and told us they would feel comfortable doing this. Staff told us they could approach the management team at any time for support or guidance. Staff demonstrated a good understanding on how to raise concerns both within and outside the organisation.

People told us they felt able to raise concerns with the provider and were confident these would be 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 had an equal opportunities, equality and diversity policy in place, which was embedded in practice. The provider had an open, inclusive recruitment policy. Management ensured equity of opportunity and experience for the workforce within their place of work, and throughout their employment. Policies and practices supported fair treatment and respect for diversity. People were supported by a diverse workforce from different cultures and backgrounds.

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.

The provider had clear systems for oversight and quality monitoring. Leadership was multi-layered and various audits and checks meant care provision was continually improving. There were various quality assurance systems and checks in place. These included audits on care notes, care plans, incidents and accidents reports, complaints and medicines. Additionally, senior staff undertook spot checks and observations of staff. Information from audits, reviews, incidents and feedback was used to identify themes and drive improvement. Leaders maintained oversight of care delivery and staffing arrangements.

Where the provider identified areas of improvement, they had set timescales of completion and addressed these. We found the manager was motivated to make the improvements and were continuing to work on strengthening their oversight of care quality and safety.

The manager had made notifications to CQC as required by law. A notification is the action a provider is legally bound to take to tell us about any changes to their regulated services or incidents that have taken place in them. Policies and procedures underpinned all working practices within the service.

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 provider worked collaboratively with external professionals and agencies to promote positive outcomes for people. People confirmed their needs were met through effective support from staff and appropriate involvement of health and social care professionals. Staff understood when to seek advice or escalate concerns about people's well-being. For example, staff liaised with occupational therapists, social workers, GPs and community nurses to help ensure people's changing needs were identified and appropriate care and support was provided.

The provider established effective processes to ensure partnership working with people, relatives and health professionals was maintained. We received positive feedback about working in partnership from all 3 health and social care professionals who responded to our request. Comments from partners included, “Our experience of the Gillingham branch is that it is well organised and responsive. We have developed positive working relationships with [the management], who have always engaged constructively with commissioners and system partners.”

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 provider promoted an open and reflective learning culture where staff felt supported to raise concerns, share ideas and learn from experiences. The provider ensured that people using the service, and their relatives were involved in developing and evaluating improvement and innovation initiatives. Where people and staff feedback was received, the manager analysed responses to ensure any lessons learnt were identified so they could improve the service going forward. The management was proactive in identifying learning which was shared promptly and consistently to staff.

People’s community participation was encouraged and supported, with staff supporting people to access activities, develop independence and build relationships outside of their homes.

The provider demonstrated openness to learning and a commitment to making improvements where needed. The manager welcomed the CQC inspection and said feedback was valued and seen as essential for driving quality. Systems were in place to monitor progress against identified actions, and these were reviewed by the manager to ensure actions were completed in a timely way and that effective oversight was maintained.