Dove Valley Mews

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 provider had a model of care, which core values were to provide individualised, person centred care for people, which enabled them to achieve good outcomes. Staff champions were in place, which covered a range of key subjects, including safeguarding, communication, complaints and infection control. Most staff told us the morale within the team was good and they communicated and worked well together, to ensure people were kept safe and lived a meaningful life. A staff member told us, “The staff here are welcoming and I feel supported. I have had an induction and have been given time to get to know people. I went out for a meal with people on my first day here.”

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. The service had an interim manager in post at the time of our inspection, who was supported by senior leaders. The operations manager visited the service regularly and undertook checks to ensure the service was operating safely. Staff mostly spoke highly of the management team and told us they felt supported, and the service was well led. Comments included, “The manager is amazing, very supportive,” and, “I can’t fault my managers if I have a problem.” However, some staff told us they did not see the managers around the service enough. Relatives told us the service was well led and responsive. A relative said, “Staff try their upmost hardest for [name]. There is no better place for them to live. They keep us informed of any incidents and are open and transparent.” Whilst no concerns were found, improvements were required to ensure the management team could evidence they completed daily walk rounds and checks.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Staff understood their responsibilities to report concerns and told us they felt at ease to report concerns, and action would be taken to address these. The management team had recognised staff often felt anxious when agency staff were present and were working to recruit permanent staff. The provider had also recognised some staff concerns around dealing with 1 person’s incidents and were working closely with the staff team, to ensure all staff were involved in managing this person needs. Complaints and compliments were sought from people, to enable people and professionals to feedback about the service. People had information provided in accessible formats to assist them in making choices and giving feedback about their support, such as flash cards. We found positive compliments from people who worked with the service. For example, 1 professional said, “Communication is good, we work collaboratively, and the home is always clean.”

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. Policies and procedures were in place in relation to promoting equality and diversity within the workforce. Staff told us they were treated fairly and no one had experienced discrimination. All staff were supported with their professional development, including a new senior staff member who had undertaken in-house leadership training. Staff meetings were in place, however a full staff team meeting had not taken place for several months, improvements were required to ensure staff attended regular meetings, to share their concerns and suggestions. Staff received regular supervisions and appraisals.

The provider did not always have clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability or good governance. They did not always act on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, or share this securely with others when appropriate. The provider had governance systems in place to ensure people were provided with safe, high-quality care. Quality audits were undertaken by the provider. Audits were effective in identifying concerns and taking action to address these. The management team had recognised the concerns we identified relating to 2 incidents of safeguarding. They had reflected and understood their responsibilities to ensure lessons were learned and implemented actions to ensure this did not happen again.

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. Staff worked in partnership with people, their relatives and partners, to ensure people's health and well-being needs were met. Partners told us staff worked well with them, acted on their advice and explored ways to cater to people's needs. A professional said, “Staff work very well with our service. We have been doing some work with the staff in regards to record keeping and this has been very effective.” Relatives told us people received good care, which was tailored to them. A relative said, “The care meets [name’s] needs really well. We have been involved in all the support planning and the communication with the staff and managers is fantastic.” People had pictures around the service, which provided positive well-being and reminiscence on activities they had done. People had completed 'talking tiles' in which they had recorded what was important to them. One person had spoken and told others he loved taking dogs out for a walk with the support of staff at Dove Valley Mews. People had 'memory books' in place, which celebrated their achievements and community inclusion. These books evidenced people had been involved in a range of community outings, such as attending farms, shows and golfing.

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. Feedback surveys were in place for people, relatives and staff, to enable people to give feedback about the service. The service learned lessons from incidents and took action to address concerns. Ongoing improvement plans were in place, which included rolling out a newsletter and increased staff recruitment.