SCC Agency Ltd (trading as South Coast Care)

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• 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. 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 68 (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 manager was in the process of registering with CQC. The provider and the senior team worked well together. Staff were very happy with the support offered by the senior team. The provider was open and approachable, and staff confirmed this. The provider told us the service was inclusive, how they believed in friendly, professional care. We saw evidence of proactive training, using both online and face to face training. Staff were aware of where to access policies and procedures on their phone apps, and the manager could track which staff accessed them.

A member of staff told us, “I’m very happy here, it’s the best thing I’ve done, I have heard about other services, this one seems better than the rest.”

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 manager, who was in the process of registering with CQC, was actively working through their NVQ level 5. They had experience in care and still met people and cared for them in their homes. This helped staff to have confidence in the leadership.

People were very complimentary about the leadership team. A person told us, “It is good, the friendliness when I phone with a problem. They respect my wishes,” and another person said, “I think it’s well organised, because they are always on call, it’s brilliant.”

Staff did not always feel they could speak up and that their voice would be heard.

We received some complaints before the assessment from staff who felt they could not speak to the manager, or who felt there would be a lack of action after a complaint. However, staff we spoke to during the assessment all told us the provider was open and happy to accept new ideas from staff. Staff were aware of the complaints and whistleblowing policies. People were all confident they could raise a complaint if needed, but most people we spoke to said they had never needed to.

The manager understood some staff might be wary to complain because some of the management team were related, however they told us there were at least two senior team members that staff could speak to who were not related. The provider assured us all concerns raised were taken seriously.

A staff member told us, “The management are always asking staff for ideas to improve the service.”

People told us it was easy to speak to someone at any time. When asked how easy it was to talk to the senior team a person said, “Very easy. I’ve had to ring on Sundays sometimes and I’ve always got hold of someone.”

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 provider told us they were a very inclusive service. They told us they were happy to support anyone and they would employ any suitable staff member. Despite this they said the workforce was not very diverse, partly because of the location and choice of staff applications.

The provider told us, “We are aware the world is changing and is very diverse. We see changes and office staff are aware of this.”

Staff felt the management was fair and fostered an inclusive atmosphere. A staff member said, “I get on with all the staff, we sometimes do double calls so I meet other staff then.”

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability. However, governance of call and travel times was not always well managed. The provider used audits 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.

The new manager was still working through some audits such as those around staffing files, and some care plans. One staff member told us time between calls was not always added to the rota, however other staff told us call times and travel times were appropriate. People told us calls times were usually managed well. The manager said they felt the rota was well managed, but would continue to monitor call and travel times to ensure staff could continue to deliver good quality, timely care. The manager was aware that a lack of phone signal could impact the monitoring of call times on the electronic care system.

We saw how the manager over saw and audited care in real time during the day using the electronic care system. Staff understood their roles, and that of the senior team. Staff were confident to call the office about any concerns and staff at the office were able to solve problems as they arose. The electronic system allowed senior staff to update and review them in the office, and staff were able to see the updates immediately. The provider told us certain senior staff used their skills to keep everyone in the office up to date with current treatments and best care practices. The provider told us having a new manager was positive for the service as they had new ideas. For example, the manager was adding ‘body map’ diagrams to all care plans to enable staff to record topical medicines accurately.

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.

The provider worked well with the local authority and the NHS Integrated Care Board, who told us the service was “raising requests for additional care and highlighting the absence of appropriate equipment promptly.”

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 provider had recently changed office location, in part to allow more room for training. There was a training area in the office featuring various equipment for staff to practice with, such as a hospital bed, slide sheets and a hoist. There was also a full body male training mannequin allowing staff to learn and practice a huge variety of care skills, such as PEG feeding, catheterisation, and nasal oxygen placement, as well as moving and handling practice.

Staff could also use the space to access online training and practice medicines administration.

The manager was in touch with other managers completing the NVQ Level 5 training and used this as an opportunity to share and learn management skills. Staff were able to access a large range of extra training apart from the mandatory training initially provided. A member of staff said, “I am very confident in all the training. We have online training and practical for the manual handling. We can ask for extra help if there is any extra training needed or we don’t understand something.” Another staff member said, “The management are always asking staff for ideas to improve the service.”

The provider and manager continued to explore the full use of the electronic care system to improve audits and care outcomes.