Exclusive Care 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

Since the last Assessment the governance around the care delivery had improved. There was now a robust system in place to quality assure the care being provided. There was learning from incidents and any changes or improvements were cascaded to the staff team. There were regular meetings and one to one supervisions with staff and staff told us they felt supported and valued.

This service scored 64 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff told us they felt the service had improved since the last Assessments. One told us, “I am happy it is now being led in the right way.” The manager told us, “We have communication with staff on a daily basis and the first point was having a staff meeting and what the expectations are, they know I am very approachable, we train the mission statement during the induction.”

There was information around the office reminding staff of the values and ethos of the service. If any concerns had been identified during an observational spot check, these were discussed during one to one supervisions. This ensured staff were working to the standards that were expected.

Staff told us they now felt supported by the leadership team. Comments included, “We have staff meetings where we can talk about concerns. It is much better now. Everything is really fine” and “There is nothing really that they could do to improve. It’s really good now.” The manager told us, “I am the manager but a part of the team as well. We have team meetings, talking on the telephone and getting staff in for training as well.”

We saw that staff were able to contact the office at all times including out of hours. During staff meetings, staff were asked to contribute to the running of the service and any feedback from them was used to drive improvements. The manager was introducing a staff reward scheme to promote staff feeling valued.

Staff told us they would not hesitate raising concerns if needed. One member of staff told us, “If I had any concerns or wanted to whistleblow, I feel confident I could speak up.” The manager told us, “We discussed ‘speaking up’ at the first meeting I had with them, [I said] whatever you want to say, it’s an open door.”

We saw from staff meetings that staff were encouraged to speak up if they needed. There was a whistleblowing policy in place and staff were reminded during supervisions of the processes of raising concerns.

We did not look at Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

The manager to told us there was now a comprehensive system of audits now in place to review the quality of care. They said, “It’s about everybody doing the right thing and I have no problem with saying when something is wrong.” The manager told us they were applying to become the registered manager.

Since the last Assessment the provider had involved a consultant to help with driving improvements. There were detailed audits looking at care plans, care notes, medicine records, training and supervisions. Any areas of concerns identified from audits had been actioned. People, relatives and staff were asked for feedback on care and this was used to help drive improvement.

People and relatives told us staff and the leadership team assisted them to refer any health concerns to external professionals.

The manager told us they worked alongside external professionals and the wider community in support of people’s care. The said, “I have worked with Alzheimer’s support group in Gravesend. I go to the libraries, meeting the wardens, say ‘hello we are here’ and ‘is there anything ai can do to help?’. I go to occupational therapists; I do the referrals myself. I take staff with me so they can learn things.”

We saw from care records that the manager and provider had contacted external professionals where they felt people’s care needs had changed. We saw advice from professionals had been included in people’s care plans.

The Provider worked alongside the consultant and the manager to continuously look for ways of improving care. The manager told us, “Lessons have been learned, with the safeguarding and things like that, there are investigations going on. I have a lot of experience, and they (the Provider) do give me the freedom and they have let me introduce my own audits.”

We saw there was now systems in place to ensure learning and improvements were made and were embedded. The manager reported to the consultant weekly where areas for learning had been identified. The Provider, consultant and manager used a ‘Lessons learned’ template where areas for discussion included safeguarding concerns and any complaints. It included information on what could be done differently to reduce further risks.