First Choice Medical Solutions Ltd

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. This key question has been rated good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care. Promoting a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empowering, which achieves good outcomes for people; People, relatives and professionals we spoke with were happy how the service was managed. One professional told us, “The staff team have excellent leadership from [registered manager] who I have regular contact with in informal and formal meetings.” Staff were positive about the management of the service. The registered manager was committed to ongoing development for the whole staff team. In addition to the training considered mandatory by the provider, the registered manager ensure staff received bespoke training to understand people’s specific needs. One staff member told us, “ The provider had effective and robust quality assurance systems in place which enabled them to closely monitor the quality of the service they provided. Checks were completed daily, weekly and monthly by staff and managers to identify areas to improve and to maintain the health and well bein of staff and people. The registered manager completed regular audits and checked medicine administration records, care plans, missed or late visits and observed staff competencies when supporting people. This was done by visiting people when staff were present for a ‘spot check’. People had continuous opportunities to provide feedback about the service they received

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 management and staff team had a shared vision, strategy, and culture. This was based on transparency, accountability, equality and human rights, diversity, and inclusion. They strived hard to understand challenges people faced in their communities. The registered manager told us they worked tirelessly to provide good quality individual care in an environment which individuals would thrive.

The management team had effective oversight on all systems and processes which were in place to help monitor, improve, and sustain the quality of care provided to people who used their service.

The management team worked cohesively to lead the service in accordance with their values and culture. They ensured that the culture was embedded in the day-to-day delivery of care and support.

Leaders had the skills, knowledge, and experience to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness, and honesty. The management team told us about their journey from inadequate to good and how all staff engaged in the process. There were various monitoring and audit systems in place which provided good oversight and quickly identified if a process needed to be tweaked to make sure they captured information that was relevant and provided the desired outcomes.

The manager told us they supported and encouraged staff to speak up if they felt something was not right. Staff told us they felt the service embraced a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

One staff member told us, “I am very confident to speak up, I can talk without fears of reprisal, and I know that the management team act on feedback.” The manager told us “We have an open-door policy. Staff know they can come in and speak to us at any time and the office provides a safe space for feedback, along with a cup of tea.” There was regular engagement with people and their families including quarterly newsletters to keep people informed about what is going on, any changes or improvements they plan to make.

The service valued diversity in their staff team. They told us their ambition was to maintain an inclusive and fair culture by continually improving equality and equity for people who work for them. One staff member told us they were “Privileged to work for an organisation who truly values all staff members from many different cultures, all of whom bring something valuable to the table.”

There are effective quality monitoring systems in place to monitor equality and equity.

The management team had clear lines of accountability, roles, and responsibilities for maintaining the governance of the service. The systems in place provided a structure that helped to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care. They acted on the best information about risk, performance, and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

Audits were in place and the management team had individual responsibilities to ensure their audits were completed in a timely way and findings reported to the wider management team.

People told us they felt the service maintained an overview of their loved one entire care and support needs and coordinated where partner organisations were involved. The service 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.

Managers and the wider staff team were positive in relation to how they worked in collaboration with other partnerships and organisations.

Professionals confirmed the service collaborated with them to develop and improve care for the people they had commissioned care for. One family member told us “There is a good working relationship between us [the parents] and management. They keep us informed and equally they are always available to listen if we want to discuss anything with them.”

Effective quality assurance processes were established and monitored, while working in partnership with other team and services.

The manager told us they had worked hard to improve things since they were rated inadequate at their last inspection. They set about a robust improvement plan and the entire staff team signed up to be on that journey with them. The service focused on continuous learning and improvement across the organisation. They encouraged creative ways of delivering care that achieved good outcomes and quality of life for people.

A continuous improvement plan was in place to help the service monitor hoe their improvement plan was working and kept reviewing it to make sure they were meeting their timescales.