Vale of York Intermediate Care service

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. The systems did not promote high-quality, person-centred care.

The service was in breach of legal regulation in relation to the governance of the service.

This service scored 62 (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 service had a key aim of supporting people to maximise their independence. Staff understood and engaged with this. For example, one staff member told us, “Our vision as an intermediate care service is to help service users get back to as much independence as possible. I feel we provide this service really well.”

The service had inclusive leaders who understood the context in which they delivered care and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. However, they had not always ensured effective oversight of risk management, medicines records and information relating to the running and quality of the service was in place.

The management team were passionate about delivering a good service to people. Staff spoke positively about the management of the service, noting they were supportive and accessible. One staff member told us, "The registered manager is very hands on and if I had any issues I know I could approach them."

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. The provider had a whistleblowing policy in place to guide and support staff. Staff all told us they felt confident that any issues raised 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 management team made reasonable adjustments to help people carry out their roles well. Staff felt they were supported and treated fairly.

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 and quality. The management team understood their role and responsibilities and worked with people and staff collaboratively. Governance systems were in place, but these had not been effective in identifying and driving improvements within the service. The provider completed a limited number of checks of the service. The most recent audit undertaken by the provider had not identified all the points raised during this assessment, nor did it ensure that required actions were completed, including capturing themes and trends. Whilst people who used the service had not been impacted, and generally provided positive feedback, the limited documentation presented a potential risk to people and was an area for further development.

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 staff liaised with the relevant health and social care professionals.

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.

The service had recently been through a major organisational restructure and was starting to use new systems for recording care and medicines, as well as new job roles and staffing structure.

The provider noted this was to improve transitions pathways and focus on outcomes for people. The registered manager felt the changes had been positive and noted they felt more supported within their role. The registered manager was part of wider forums with other registered managers to provide support and share learning. Staff were given time to develop their knowledge and skills. Staff attended team meetings to share information about how people were supported. Further work was required to ensure learning was shared with the wider staff team.