Allestree Health & Homecare Services

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 requires improvement and there was a breach of the legal requirement in relation to governance. Improvements were found at this assessment and the provider was no longer in breach of this regulation. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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 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 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. Allestree Health & Homecare Services had clear aims to provide high quality person-centred and compassionate care to people living in Allestree and surrounding the areas of Derbyshire. People’s feedback throughout our assessment was positive and confirmed people were very happy with the care they received. People and staff all spoke about how comfortable they felt, and they could speak with leaders about anything. People and staff had confidence in how the service was managed.

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 spoke highly of the leaders who ran the service and the culture they had created. They provided examples of how the leaders had supported them personally and professionally. Staff felt listened to, included in decisions and valued. Staff spoke about the friendly, welcoming and supportive team culture and how much they enjoyed working for the company.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. A whistle-blowing policy was in place to help ensure any concerns about people’s care would be reported appropriately. A member of staff told us, “I can approach anyone for anything, and I’d feel really confident to whistle blow if I needed to.” Likewise, people told us they would feel comfortable to raise any concerns or worries directly with the staff or leaders sat the service.

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. Staff appreciated being able to work flexibility and felt leaders understood and accommodated their commitments outside of work. One staff member appreciated being able to have ‘keep in touch’ days when they had taken maternity leave. Other staff told us they worked as ‘bank’ staff. Bank staff do not always have set hours but pick up shifts as and when they can, often to fit around their other commitments. Leaders told us they really valued having bank staff as this helped them cover any periods of staff sickness with staff that were already familiar people.

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. Leaders had a good level of oversight regarding the quality and safety of people’s care. They maintained this through regular contact with people and families as well as reviewing responses to feedback surveys. Audits of care records and records of medicines management helped leaders to check care was provided in line with their expectations. Statutory notifications to the Care Quality Commission had been submitted. We identified one incident where leaders had not notified the Care Quality Commission about, and this was accepted as an oversight and the required notification was submitted as part of this assessment. Whilst staff were fully compliant with the training identified as required for their job role, leaders had not identified one area of training that was now required. They took prompt action and staff completed the relevant training during our assessment.

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. Relatives were involved in their family members’ care plans and reviews. They were updated when anything changed and involved in sharing ideas on what might improve things. Staff told us they worked well with other health and social care professionals. They reported paramedics and other emergency responders had complemented their systems for recording people’s care as these had helped them understand people’s needs and any symptoms when they arrive at their homes.

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. Leaders told us they were keen to involve and listen to their staff, people and their relatives in any developments. Feedback from people and staff confirmed they felt listened to and involved in their care on a day-to-day basis. People had made some comments previously about being asked about their service more and leaders confirmed another survey questionnaire was due to go out to people shortly. This would enable leaders to again review people’s feedback and identify any learning or areas for improvement.