Sylvan Home Care Services - Bromborough Branch

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 changed to requires improvement. This meant the management and leadership was inconsistent. Leaders and the culture they created did not always support the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 61 (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 clear visions and values. Staff and management understood the importance of listening to the views of people and their relatives about the service. The provider worked with the staff team to build open and transparent relationships. People and their relatives had been provided with clear information on how to raise suggestions and concerns about the service.

The provider had inclusive leaders 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 and knowledge and to lead effectively with integrity and honesty.

Staff told us they knew about the service’s whistleblowing policy and knew how to raise concerns. Staff were also aware they could report and concerns directly to the Care Quality Commission and the local safeguarding team. There was a whistle blowing policy in place. Staff were informed about this as part of their induction. Staff could access the policy if needed at any time. People had information provided to them, this allowed them to know how to raise a concern and their right to speak up. People and their loved ones told us they knew how and where to raise any issues or complaints. Comments included, “100% response to any concerns”, and “I would ring the Office, No concerns so far.”

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. Staff had all received equality training, and most felt they were treated fairly and equally. Staff had made requests and held discussions identifying areas of work where they required additional support or adjustments. The manager told us they would always endeavour to provide support where required.

The provider had audits in place to monitor the service delivered. However, not all audits completed by the provider were effective in identifying concerns we found during this inspection. Shortfalls in practice had not always been identified, such as the inaccurate call time recording. Although missed, late and cancelled calls were recorded, there were no meaningful audits of this information to analyse the information and take steps to improve. This meant we were not assured the provider had an accurate picture of risk across the service at any one time. We did not see any evidence of the nominated individual being involved in providing management oversight of this area of the service. This was a breach of Regulation 17, good governance.

The provider understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services work seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement. Although we had a small sample of feedback from partners, they did confirm the provider worked with them to develop and improve the care for people.

The provider did not focus on continuous learning improvement in some areas of the organisation. The manager spoke of the importance of continuous improvement and following the feedback during this inspection about the need to improve their use of the electronic call monitoring and keeping people’s personal information private they planned to develop this further to include all records and quality assurance monitoring. Staff told us they had opportunities to contribute ideas and suggestions in relation to the way the service was delivered.