Kensington Community Care Shropshire

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 inspection we rated this key question requires improvement. At this inspection 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. At the last inspection the provider was in breach of regulation regarding the governance of the service. Enough improvement had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulation.

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 service 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. People, their relatives and staff all felt listened to by the service. Everyone felt their views were valued and respected. People were encouraged to provide feedback on the care they received, and this helped shape their service. One person said they received regular visits from the registered manager. They were able to share their thoughts and feelings on the care provided openly and honestly and felt listened too. Any changes recommended were quickly implemented. For example, 1 person received different call times to ensure they could still do what they wanted before they required care support. Staff were encouraged to provide feedback at regular staff meetings or by having open conversations with the management team. One staff member said, “I feel I can raise any issues, concerns or recommendations openly with [registered managers name]. I feel my suggestions are welcomed.”

The service 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. Everyone we spoke with including people, relatives and staff found the management team to be open, receptive and supportive. One relative said they have regular contact with the office team. They found them to be open and receptive. They said they had to contact them in an emergency once and found their support to be overwhelming and positive which encouraged them to make contact with them again if it was needed. One staff member expressed how the management team supported them and adapted their working week to accommodate changes in their life. They found this to be positive and enabling.

The service fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Everyone felt able to openly speak up about anything that concerned them. People and staff felt able to raise concerns with the management team and were assured they would receive a positive response. The provider had systems in place to address deficits in standards including extra support and retraining staff if needed. Staff members knew the relevant policies and procedures which directed their work including the whistleblowing policy.

The service valued diversity in their workforce. They work towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who work for them. The management team took action to improve where there were perceived disparities in the experience of staff with protected equality characteristics. One staff member described how circumstances outside of their control necessitated a change in working pattern. The management team responded positively to this which supported the staff member to remain in employment. They found this to be adaptive and inclusive which demonstrated to them they felt valued as a person in the providers employment.

The service 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 act on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and share this securely with others when appropriate. Managers had effective quality checks in place to ensure people received the care they consented to. For example, regular checks were completed on the administration of medicines to ensure people received them as prescribed. Staff told us they received regular spot checks to ensure they arrived on time and provided care in accordance with people’s wishes. As part of these spot checks people, and if appropriate, relatives were asked about the service provided. The management team fed back to staff the results of the spot check as part of their regular one on one sessions. Staff told us they found this to be supportive and necessary to maintain standards of care.

The service understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services work seamlessly for people. They share information and learning with partners and collaborate for improvement. People were supported by staff and the management team to engage with their local communities and partners. This included GP’s, District Nurses and others involved in their care and support. The provider had established and maintained effective links with local social services teams. This helped ensure people received the right level of support and changes were effectively communicated to keep people safe. This supported people to remain in control of their own care and supported their own independence.

The service 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 and effective practice. The management team reviewed incidents, accidents or dangerous occurrences to see if anything could be done differently. They shared learning across other parts of the organisation to ensure lessons learnt were cascaded to others to help improve care. For example, following a change in 1 person’s mobility, their care plan was revised, and communicated to everyone providing support to ensure they understood the changes, which provided consistent care. These changes were recorded and passed to external visiting healthcare partners This supported joined up care and all those involved supported the person as they wished.