Royal Mencap Society - Rotherham and Sheffield Domiciliary Care Agency

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 71 (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 policies in place around workforce equality and diversity. Staff told us, they felt listened to within the service and the opinions and views of staff were considered and valued by leaders. Service managers had hands on support from operation managers who regularly visited the services to offer guidance and support. The service had a colleague forum where staff could raise ideas or concerns.

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. Staff told us leaders at all levels were supportive and provided effective guidance and support. One staff member commented, “I always feel able to discuss any concerns I have with my manager, they listen and will always ensure I’m carrying out my role safely."

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Prior to our inspection, there were concerns at one service around staff culture. This was dealt with proactively by leaders and steps were taken to improve and maintain positive staff cultures within the other services. The operational manager told us, “We carry out spot checks, staff have undergone training on positive cultures, questionnaires have been sent to staff to gather their feedback on staff dynamics, which were positive.” There was a comprehensive whistleblowing policy in place and staff spoken to told us they knew how to access this and raise any whistleblowing concerns.

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 promoted staff individuality. One service told us how they previously held a Nigerian Christmas dinner, to celebrate staff culture. The service was in the process of creating an induction specific to staff from over-seas, following feedback from staff. The provider had an equality and diversity policy in place which recognised staff’s protected characteristics and ensured appropriate measures were in place to support these. Staff completed equality and diversity training.

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 effective systems for monitoring and improving the quality of care and support. The staff and managers were involved in ensuring checks were completed at service level and action was taken when problems were identified. Operations managers had positive relationships with the services and frequently visited to carry out checks, implement action plans and review in service audits to ensure these were compliant. The service had an internal audit and compliance team, who could support service managers in ensuring good oversight and governance was taking place. However, we identified that systems and processes required improvement to ensure leaders had clear oversight of the quality and safety at 1 of the services. This service was working with the local authority to continuously monitor and manage risk. However, there were gaps and improvements needed within this service’s auditing and governance processes. The area manager provided assurances that the concerns raised during the inspection would be rectified for this service through further checks and monitoring.

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. We received mixed feedback from partner agencies around services ability to work in partnership. This feedback we were given varied on each service. One professional told us, “The communication was reliable, and they were aware of the safeguarding processes, they would be prompt attending meetings. They also communicated well with people and were consistent.” However, another professional told us, “The relationship varies. Sometimes it’s very positive, other times less so. Some of the individual service leads are more open to changes and improvements than others.”

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 organisation had a range of policies and procedures which reflected good practice. There were regular team meetings for staff at the service and for managers to discuss improvements and look at ways to develop the service.