Guardian Homecare (Basildon)

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

There was a positive culture at the service. The registered manager and staff had worked collaboratively to make improvements to care provision. Governance and management systems, information about risks, performance, and outcomes were now used effectively to drive improvements. Staff were positive about their roles and the support they received from the senior team.

This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff were generally satisfied with working for the service. Staff were not always aware of the vision and value of the service, although they were clear on their role of supporting people with compassion and good quality care. We saw evidence that the provider had recently reviewed their vision and values for supporting people and its staff. These were being cascaded to staff with a package of benefits to improve the culture, offer rewards and opportunities to staff and maintain their workforce. A staff member told us, “I have improved a lot through the help from management. They are always there for me when I need help.”

The registered manager told us about the improvements implemented to provide a positive, compassionate, and listening culture. They had learnt lessons from incidents and concerns and staff feedback. One example being around travel time between visits. Also, opening the office 7 days a week for staff to drop in for support and advice, especially those who worked at the weekend as well as the introduction of coffee mornings for staff to meet the office and management team. The registered manager said, “Care is not just Monday to Friday 9 to 5 and we have recognised the extra importance of being available and flexible. We have started a food bank within the office for not only the people using our service but for our staff as well, things are a struggle for a lot of people at the moment.” Staff were asked their views and to give their feedback on the support they received and their ideas for improvements. Actions taken from staff views showed where improvements could be made. One such example included the change to care workers role title, which they had decided as ‘Care professionals’ and this had been adopted by the provider.

The registered manager had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty and had a management team that worked well together. The registered manager was known to support staff in a flexible and individual way. For example, change in rota arrangements to work flexibly, taking personal circumstances into account, and making reasonable adjustments so staff could complete their work to the best of their ability. Staff were from a diverse work force and there was clear guidance of zero tolerance of bullying, harassment, and discrimination. We saw evidence that staff could raise any issues of concern and that these would be dealt with quickly. A staff member said, "I don’t have an issue as long as you are fair with them they are fair with you.”

The registered manager was being provided with support from a strong leadership team. There were clearly defined roles and responsibilities. There were systems in place to gather, record and act on the views and concerns of people and their relatives. For example, we saw a complaint from a family member wanting to receive more communication about their relative and care being delivered. This was rectified by the registered manager increasing their password protected access to their relative’s care plan and the relative was satisfied with this. Staff were provided with feedback from people they cared for through a new commendation form. This was kept on their record in recognition of their good care practice. The provider gave us examples of attending awards ceremonies where staff had been recognised for their long standing work with the company. The staff recognition wall in the office gave a positive view of how the staff team worked together and how they cared and supported people in the community.

There was a culture where staff felt they could speak up if they saw issues or poor practice in their work. When concerns were raised, the registered manager and management team investigated sensitively and confidentially, and lessons were shared and acted on. Staff knew how to speak up and described how to do this and the actions taken. A staff member said, “I can speak up any time, the managers are always there to speak with. Very supportive.” Another said, “Generally brilliant. The managers come from a humanistic point of view, very good.”

The registered manager had processes in place to support staff to speak up. The provider offered a service whereby staff could phone, email or go online to discuss their concerns confidentiality. Staff were reminded how to speak up during supervision sessions. The minutes of a recent staff meeting recorded what whistleblowing was and provided information about how to do so.

The registered manager had developed an inclusive workforce and recognized the value of diversity amongst the team. There were enough staff and the majority were happy with the rotas and flexible working arrangements. The provider has maintained a consistent staff team. A manager was able to tell us about the workforce equality, inclusion, and diversity. This included a diverse staff team, staff being treated as individuals and making reasonable adjustments to ensure staff were treated equally and there were no barriers to them working for Guardian home care.

There was a policy in place to protect staff from harassment and bullying and a focus on protected characteristics under the Equality Act. People and staff member’s protected characteristics were recorded in their files so they could be protected under the Act. Reasonable adjustments were made for staff on an individual basis. A staff member told us, “Adjustments were made for me and tailored to support my individual learning needs.” Staff were engaged with the service through meetings, supervision, and surveys. The office was now open 7 days a week and managers shared the responsibility. Staff went into the office in their gaps between visits for a break and to collect personal protective equipment.

Staff feedback was generally positive about the management and support they received to do their job effectively. Staff understood their role and responsibilities. Managers could account for the actions, behaviours and performance of themselves and staff to support good quality care for people. A staff member said, “Managers chat with me and are professional. It’s a good balance and they are good to get along with.”

Improvements had been made since our last inspection and the provider was no longer in breach of a legal requirement. A quality assurance process was in place with effective auditing and overview of quality of the service. This was now effective in identifying shortfalls in the service. The registered manager was supported by a quality and compliance manager, and they worked together for effective oversight and management of the service. Improvements had been made to ensure travel time to visits was included in the rota. Additional work was underway to look at improving call duration and logging in and out of calls in discussion with staff, as some improvement was made but still needed continuous monitoring. Effective disciplinary processes were in place. There are robust arrangements for the availability, integrity and confidentiality of data, records and data management systems. The registered manager made statutory notification when required and safeguarding notifications to the relevant local authorities they worked with.

People told us the service had been very helpful especially when coming out of hospital. A family member told us, “Getting in touch with Guardian and sorting [relative’s] care was quite easy once the NHS had picked it up and transferred us over to the system. Literally getting somebody saying this needs to happen and what [relative’s] needs are. It was all there which we were pleased about.”

The registered manager had developed relationships in the local community including working with the local hospital discharge team and local authorities. They had the support of an occupational therapist who assisted them in training staff in moving and handling people, especially when new equipment was being tried to aid a person’s independence.

A local authority told us they maintained a good relationship with the service and the registered manager. A professional told us, “The staff communicate very helpfully about my patient’s mental health and physical health issues and are very kind when supporting them during outpatient clinics.”

The registered manager was promoting joined up working with a range of partner such as the hospital discharge team and local authority to provide a smooth transition for people from hospital back to their own home. From feedback we saw this was providing positive outcomes for people. Care could be provided short term until people could be fully independent again or a longer period of support was arranged if people wished to stay with Guardian Home Care. Staff were very effective in making links in the community for people to access, engage with and participate in social and leisure activities of their choice.

We did not look at Learning, improvement and innovation during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.