Dean Road Extra Care Scheme

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

This is the first inspection of this newly registered service and therefore we assessed all 7 quality statements from this key question. Based on the findings of this assessment, our rating for this key question is good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care. The provider had established oversight and scrutiny systems, which they operated effectively. The managers had the skills, knowledge, experience to lead effectively. The provider’s culture was positive, open, and honest, with leadership and management that was clearly identifiable and transparent.

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.

Managers and staff told us they aimed to give people they supported the best quality person-centred care they could. The managers had a clear vision for the scheme in allowing people to lead independent lives.

The service aimed to give people consistently good care and staff worked together to try and achieve this. Individual and group staff meetings and work performance appraisal was routinely used by the provider to promote a positive culture.

Staff told us the extra care scheme was well-led by suitably competent and approachable managers. The feedback we received from staff about the office-based managers was positive. The registered manager had the relevant skills, knowledge, and experience to effectively lead the service, which they did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

Individual staff supervision and group team meetings were used by the provider to remind staff about their organisations underlying core values and principles.

The provider valued and listened to the views of staff. Staff told us they were encouraged to contribute their ideas about what the service did well and what they could do better during regular meetings with their managers and fellow co-workers.

The provider promoted an open and inclusive culture which sought the views of people using the service, their relatives, and staff who worked for them. They used a range of methods to gather people’s views about the quality of the care they received from this provider. For example, people living in the extra care scheme and their relatives were routinely invited to join in meetings with the managers and staff and participate in the providers own customer satisfaction surveys.

Staff told us they were treated well and not discriminated against. They also said they worked well together as part of a varied and diverse work force which reflected the local community.

There were effective and proactive ways to engage with and involve staff. This included regular staff meetings and having an open-door policy where staff felt empowered and were confident that their concerns and ideas would be heard.

It was clear from feedback we received from the managers and staff they now had a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in relation to assessing, monitoring and managing the quality and safety of the service they provided.

Thorough audits were routinely conducted by the office-based managers. These internal audits checked specific records and tasks were completed including, staff training and support, observations of staffs working practises, coordinating staffs call visits, medicine, complaints, safeguarding incidents, accidents and stakeholder feedback. The outcome of all these audits and checks were analysed at regular intervals to identify performance shortfalls, learn lessons, and develop action plans to improve the home care service people received. The new provider has also transitioned to an electronic system to help them oversee and scrutinise how they coordinated staffs call visits, planned people’s packages of care and managed their prescribed medicines. The introduction of all these electronic systems had significantly improved the providers ability to effectively monitor the quality and safely of the service they gave people. For example, these electronic systems automatically flagged up and notified the office-based managers in real time if staff had failed to turn up for their scheduled call visit or not administered a person’s prescribed medicines on time. The managers understood their responsibilities in relation to their regulatory requirements around notifiable incidents. Our records told us that appropriate, timely notifications were made to the CQC.

People told us staff supported them to stay in contact with external health and social care professionals and agencies as and when they needed them.

The managers and staff told us they regularly consulted external health and social care professionals and agencies, welcomed their views and advice, and shared best care practice ideas with their staff team. Staff told us they worked with a number of community teams to support people.

External health and social care professionals expressed being generally satisfied with the way the provider collaborated with them. An external social care professional told us, “We have a good working relationship with the scheme who are proactive, responsive to all our queries in a timely manner and continue to keep us updated about our client’s needs.” Another added, “We have an established joint working protocols and robust communication strategies in place. The housing association manager and extra care scheme manager meet every morning to complete a handover and to decide together how any issues that have arisen will be resolved.”

The provider worked closely with various external agencies including, GPs, various community teams, social workers and Local Authorities. This was underpinned by a policy of relevant information being shared with appropriate services within the community.

It was clear from the feedback we received from managers and staff they recognised the importance of learning lessons and continuous improvement to ensure they maintained person-centred and safe care for people they supported.

The outcome of all the audits and checks the provider carried out were always analysed to identify performance shortfalls and learn lessons, so this extra care scheme could continuously improve. Safeguarding concerns and complaints were routinely reviewed, analysed, and responded to with emerging themes identified.