Homecare Alliance Ltd

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.

There was an open culture between the service, people and staff that encouraged open communication.

People were treated as individuals with individual needs and history which staff respected.

Plans to extend the service into other areas within London were being considered by involving staff with working knowledge of those communities to ensure the service has relevant insight to provide support.

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 of the service had extensive experience of the domiciliary care sector, both as a user of services as well as in service delivery. This understanding of both perspectives helped to form the model of care the service provided. One which was person centred and with a strong belief, through experience, that consistency of care workers was an important factor in people having a good experience of a service.

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

The service had a whistleblowing policy which staff were familiar with. Though staff we spoke with told us they would feel comfortable raising any issues directly with the senior staff.

People told us they were able to contact the office if they had any concerns and they felt they would be listened to.

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 service had a flexible working policy and worked to ensure staff were able to perform their roles with adjustments where necessary. The service worked with staff when producing rotas and tried to accommodate other priorities, such as caring when allocating hours.

Equality and diversity formed part of the service’s recruitment policy.

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.

There were quality assurance audits in place with two levels of oversight, this included care plans, visit logs and medicine administration.

When concerns were raised, the service shared relevant information with health and social care teams. Some information shared with the provider had not been submitted to the CQC in line with guidance. However, there was no resulting risk/harm and the registered manager of the service responded positively to feedback and clarity around expectations.

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.

Partners told us the service shared relevant information to ensure the best outcomes for people. This included community and healthcare services.

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 service demonstrated learning from complaints/concerns and used feedback as an opportunity to improve people’s experience of the service.

The Registered manager pro-actively sought service manager networks to enable learning from other services and to share learning with others.