Blossom Home Care Leeds & Wakefield

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 for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated good. The registered manager fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and that their voice would be heard. The registered manager had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty. An effective quality assurance system was in place although this was still being embedded with new processes as the service grew. The registered manager used quality audits, feedback and other checks 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. They valued diversity in their workforce. The provider had systems in place to ensure an inclusive and fair culture was created, which consistently looked at how to improve equality and equity for the people they provided support to and people who worked for them. Staff we contacted were passionate about providing good care outcomes and took ownership for their practice. The registered manager understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership with others and feedback from relatives was generally positive.

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 registered manager had a vision, strategy and culture of putting people first and ensuring care was person centred. Staff we spoke with echoed that the management team were supportive and listened to their views. One staff said, “The management team support me very well because they always make sure we are home safe and if we have personal issues they do understand and support us.”

The policies and procedures the service had in place were based on providing transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and local communities.

All staff we spoke with told us the registered manager was a supportive and listening figurehead.

The manager regularly undertook care visits and told us they tried to lead by example. Systems were in place to check staff practices embodied the organisation’s culture and values. Feedback from people, relatives and partners were positive about the leadership of the service.

All staff we spoke with stated they felt able to speak up, raise a concern and felt listened to. One staff member said, “Our management team is open to suggestions of any nature and they take them seriously. This is the same for any concerns raised. They always get back to us with feedback.”

The registered manager had policies and systems in place, which aimed to foster a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and that their voice would be heard.

Everyone we spoke to from the staff team stated they felt supported and team work was positive. The workforce was diverse, and everyone stated they felt valued. One staff member said, " I also feel the company prioritizes diversity and inclusion, promotes work - life balance and encourages team work.”

The registered manager had ensured equality, diversity and inclusion policies were in place and these were followed. The registered manager valued diversity and followed best practice guidance.

Staff told us they were involved in being asked for feedback to determine if improvements could be made at the service. One staff said, “Our management team is open to suggestions of any nature and they take them seriously.”

Some governance processes were still being embedded as the provider has only been operating for less than a year, however we did see a system of audits, quality feedback from people and a system of regular overview with managers in place. The registered manager and the officer manager and lead administrator regularly held meetings to discuss risk, service delivery and areas for improvement. There were arrangements in place to ensure data management systems were effective at maintaining the availability, integrity and confidentiality of data and records. Clear business continuity plans were in place.

People told us they were happy with the support they received and felt staff were competent, kind and treated them with dignity and respect. Relatives also felt staff were skilled and they contacted health professionals when needed.

The staff team worked proactively and positively with partner agencies to ensure people received the best possible joined up care and support.

Although we reached out to partner agencies for feedback, we did not receive any responses.

Systems and processes were in place to enable the service to develop good links with the local community and work in partnership with other agencies to improve people's wellbeing. We heard of a project with the local Caribbean community that the staff team were working on to provide food hampers to people at Christmas. The registered manager had put measures in place to ensure the service worked seamlessly for people and helped them achieve positive outcomes.

Staff told us that learning and new ways of working were shared with them quickly. One staff member said, "Our app notifies us of these updates as soon as we access the service user's profile. As a dedicated professional, I make it a point to thoroughly read the care plan before every visit.”

The registered manager had processes in place for staff to ensure continuous improvement through innovation and learning was achieved. The service had an open and honest philosophy about learning from mistakes or issues and were open to feedback from people, staff and partners.