Caring Direct Ltd

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 leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture. This service was previously registered at a different address. This is the first assessment for the service at this address. This key question has been rated 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. The provider was in breach of legal regulation in relation to the governance of the service.

This service scored 54 (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 did not always promote a clear vision, strategy and culture for the service which empowered people and enabled them to make decisions about their own care. Whilst managers provided opportunities for people, relatives and staff to give feedback, they were not able to demonstrate how they used this feedback effectively to improve the care provided. Leaders did not always promote a culture based on learning and improvement to ensure staff delivered safe, high quality care.

Leaders were not always able to demonstrate a robust understanding of the issues and priorities for the service. At the time of the assessment, there was no registered manager in post and management responsibilities were being shared within the leadership team. There was a lack of clear structure and accountability and this meant there was no clear strategy in place to address areas where improvements were needed.

Staff told us they were able to speak up and there were policies in place to support this. However, we received mixed feedback about how well the provider listened when concerns were raised. This meant staff did not always feel their voices were heard.

The provider supported inclusivity in their workforce. Policies were in place to ensure equality in their recruitment and training opportunities. Staff told us they were able to request any additional training they required to fulfil their role.

The provider’s governance processes were not effective. Checks completed by the management team had failed to identify and address the concerns we found with people’s care planning and risk assessment documentation and with the management of incidents. The provider was not able to demonstrate robust oversight of people’s care visits. We found a significant number of staff rotas did not incorporate travel time between people’s care visits. However, we found no evidence the provider had reviewed this to ensure staff were given sufficient time to travel from one call to the next without cutting down people’s allocated time for care. People and those important to them told us the timing of their care did not always meet their needs and preferences. However, the provider was not able to evidence they were aware of these concerns prior to our assessment. The provider did not have effective processes in place to monitor and review the punctuality, duration and quality of people’s care.

The provider understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership with other health and social care professionals to support people’s needs. One healthcare professional told us, “I am always able to make contact with Caring Direct easily either by phone or email and we have a very good working relationship.”

The provider did not always focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement. Whilst management checks and reviews were in place, these were not being used effectively to manage ongoing risks or identify areas where the service could be developed. Managers had not implemented any robust action plan to identify and address areas of concern and ensure people received a good experience of care.