Swanlow Medical Centre

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

We looked for evidence that the service’s leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care and promoted an open and fair culture. At our last assessment, we rated this key question as good. At this assessment, the rating remains the same.

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 service had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality, human rights, diversity, inclusion and engagement. Staff and leaders understood the challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

Leaders monitored and reviewed progress against the delivery of their strategy. Staff and leaders actively promoted equality and diversity and worked to identify the causes of any workforce inequalities.

Leaders demonstrated a positive and compassionate culture that focused on staff wellbeing, learning and development. For example, they organised team events outside of work to support team building and staff engagement. Staff were also recognised through monthly prize draws with gift vouchers. In addition, a dedicated training budget was available, which staff could apply for to support further learning and professional development.

Leaders held regular staff meetings to share information and discuss service developments. However, meeting records did not always contain sufficient detail to demonstrate that all relevant information had been shared consistently across staff teams. Following the assessment, leaders submitted evidence showing they had strengthened their approach to recording meeting discussions to support effective communication and oversight.

These arrangements helped create a supportive culture where staff felt valued, listened to and supported to develop their skills and knowledge.

We did not look at Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

We did not look at Freedom to speak up during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

We did not look at Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

The service had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and governance processes. These were used to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. The service acted on the best available information about risk, performance and outcomes and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

All staff we spoke with were clear on their individual roles and responsibilities. Leaders proactively supported staff and regularly met with them to complete appraisals and performance reviews. The provider had established governance processes in relation to the quality statements we reviewed during this assessment, which were appropriate for their service. However, these processes were not always fully effective in ensuring workforce compliance and infection prevention and control oversight arrangements were consistently maintained. We identified gaps in the retention and monitoring of workforce compliance records and found oversight of infection prevention and control arrangements was not always fully effective. The provider took prompt action to address these concerns following our assessment.

Staff could access all required policies and procedures, which were kept up to date and reflected current guidance. Leaders held regular meetings with staff, during which they discussed emerging risks and potential improvements to the service.

Staff took confidentiality and information security seriously, including verifying people’s identity during remote consultations. Data and notifications were submitted to external agencies as required.

We did not look at Partnerships and communities during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

We did not look at Learning, improvement and innovation during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.