BGS Healthcare Ltd

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• 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

We reviewed 7 quality statements for this key question. Leaders were heavily involved in the service on a daily basis and knew people and staff well. There were a range of governance systems, and office staff had been given specific responsibilities to enable better oversight. A clear vision and strong value base were promoted and adopted by the staff team.

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.

Leaders ensured values were part of every-day practice. They enabled this through regular informal discussions, staff meetings, training and role modelling. Values were considered during staff recruitment so that anyone joining the team would work well within the culture and vision of the service.

Leaders told us they were passionate about the service and ensuring people received a good standard of care. They said they did not want the service to grow too much bigger, so that a personalised service could still be provided. Leaders said they liked to make a difference to people’s lives and continually develop. Staff confirmed this and said they enjoyed providing personalised care. They said leaders enabled this by sufficient time with people and good support. Staff spoke very positively about the culture of the service. They said leaders had a supportive and inclusive management style, which helped build trust and wellbeing.

If they had enough time, staff were encouraged to call in to the office between people’s support. This enabled them to gain support through talking to leaders and office staff informally. Telephone contact was made with any staff member who had not been recently seen. This ensured safety, but also enabled the staff member to feel valued and included in the team.

Leaders told us they had a very fair, inclusive management style but expected all staff to work well and put people first. They said they cared about the staff and tried to support them as much as possible. This included considering the caring responsibilities some staff had, outside of work. Leaders told us they were visible and could be contacted at any time. They worked closely with staff and completed people’s support as needed.

Staff told us they would have no hesitation to speak up and raise any concerns, however small. They said they could phone management or office staff at any time and their concerns would be taken seriously and acted on. Leaders told us they aimed to ensure everyone could openly speak up without any fear of reprisal. They said they documented and investigated any shortfall that was brought to their attention. Leaders told us it was important to apologise and learn from anything raised. They were confident an open, trusting culture was in place which enabled honest views to be raised.

People were informed of how to raise a concern when they first started using the service and a copy of the complaint procedure was placed in their support plan. Systems were in place thereafter to enable people to give their views about the service they received. There was an up to date speaking up policy, and staff were encouraged to be honest and raise anything that concerned them. Records showed any shortfall was properly investigated, with lessons learnt to minimise a reoccurrence.

Leaders told us protected characteristics of both people and staff were promoted, with support given in line with individual preferences. They said they had built a staff team of mixed ages and ethnicity, as well as a wide range of skills and experiences. Leaders said this helped to meet the diverse needs of people being supported. One staff member confirmed this as they said they had helped translate some information into a person’s native language to enable better understanding.

Equality and diversity policies formed part of the provider’s mandatory staff training programme and policies and procedures were in place.

Whilst there were a range of governance systems, leaders had not identified staff were not always maintaining effective records. For example, staff had repeatedly documented one person had declined support, but they had not shown the impact of this or the techniques they used to encourage engagement. Other records showed staff had not stayed the full allocation of the person’s visit, but no reasons for this were stated. In response to this, leaders told us training in record keeping would be arranged to ensure improvement. There was a plan for regular spot checks of staff’s performance and records showed leaders had oversight of any accidents, incidents or near miss events. There were formal processes such as staff recruitment and induction, and a range of up-to-date policies and procedures.

Leaders told us they were very hands on and involved in all aspects of the service daily. They said they had recently restructured the roles of the office staff and now each member had their own responsibilities. This ensured greater efficiency and accountability, whilst leaders-maintained oversight. Staff told us there were regular checks of their performance, and they were constantly reminded if any of their training needed to be refreshed.

A health care professional told us staff were friendly, dedicated and wanted the best for the people they supported. They said leaders were keen to embrace advice, but sometimes there was some reluctance by some staff to engage with new equipment and techniques. This was particularly related to using 1 staff member to support a person instead of the usual 2. Another health and social care professional told us the agency was a proactive service that did not shy away from more challenging and complex situations. They said staff were good at meeting people’s needs, liaising with others and being proactive in seeking support and advice where it was needed.

Leaders told us they had built good working relationships with other professionals. This included local GP surgeries, pharmacies, and the safeguarding team. They said they also used various training organisations to best supply what they needed for the team and to keep up to date with best practice. Leaders told us they were planning to investigate ways to work more with other care agencies in the local area, with a view to sharing knowledge and expertise.

People’s daily care records showed the service maintained good networking with other professionals. This included working with the Fire and Rescue Service to install fire safety equipment in a person’s home due to them being vulnerable and a smoker. Contact details of involved professionals were documented in people’s support plans.

People told us staff were good at identifying any changes in their health and then contacting the relevant professionals for advice.

Systems such as training, support and supervision were in place to help staff develop their skills. Leaders used various training providers to best support staff and service delivery moving forward.

Leaders told us learning and development had been ongoing since the service was first initialised. They said it had been a steep learning curve, but they were making strong progress, and the service was now operating as they wanted it to. They said some of the development was planned, but other areas had come from inspections and feedback from people, staff, and others.