Niche Care Rotherham

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

Systems in place to support staff were not always effective. Staff did not feel involved in the service and said communication between the care workers and the office staff was poor. They felt their opinions and views were not valued. Systems in place to monitor the service had identified areas of development and action plans supported the providers response to issues identified.

This service scored 57 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The registered manager told us staff were involved in the running of the service as are people who use the service and their families. However, all staff we contacted did not feel involved and didn't feel listened to. Staff did not think there was a shared culture and felt communication between the care staff and office staff was poor.

The provider had a strategy in place which included visions and values for the company. Feedback from people and their relative’s demonstrated staff were displaying the providers values. People had trust in the carers and had developed trusting relationships with them.

Staff did not feel supported by the management team. They told us staff morale was low.

The registered manager was supported by the management team. We saw evidence of good processes to develop workforce equality. However, staff did not feel included in the service and did not feel supported by the management team.

Staff told us they had access to the whistle blowing policy and would use it if they needed to. Staff also commented that they didn’t feel listened to by some members of the management team.

Whistle bowing procedure was available. People and relatives, we spoke with felt they could raise concerns and were happy with the care provider.

The registered manager gave positive feedback and was knowledgeable about their role. However, staff feedback did not mirror this. All staff we spoke with told us staff morale was low, they didn’t feel the manager listened to them and they felt ideas were not taken seriously. Staff told us supervisions are completed but not professional and often by someone in another branch who didn't know them. Staff told us appraisals are carried out before a CQC inspection only. Staff told us they were not given guidance when systems changed. Staff felt some office staff were abrupt and talked down to them.

The service evidenced they were interested in the wellbeing of staff and offer opportunities for staff to develop in the service. A staff handbook was available. Although staff feedback did not reflect the processes. The provider had systems in to support staff such as flexible working arrangements, employee assistance programme and legal and bereavement support.

The registered manager explained spot visits took place to ensure staff were supporting people in line with their needs. However, staff told us these did not happen often, and some staff could not remember when the last one occurred. Spot checks we reviewed were not informative and did not show the process had been followed professionally.

A series of audits are completed, and we saw actions plans to address concerns which had been identified.

People and their relatives felt involved in their care and told us their care plans were updated when required. People and relatives felt staff were approachable and would address any of their concerns.

Staff and leaders told us they interacted well with healthcare professionals and had built up good working relationships with them.

We received feedback from partners that there had been some substantiated concerns regarding call duration and quality of care. The local authority completed an assessment of the service in March 2023 which identified some areas of improvement.

The service had a managers’ forum who meet regularly, and their focus is on continuous learning, innovation and improvements. This focused on learning and development, opportunities and apprentices. The registered manager attended the home care provider meetings arranged by the local authority.

Staff told us that when changes were made to systems and processes, they were not supported to understand how to put them into practice. There was a lack of guidance for staff. Leaders were aware of how to respond to accidents and incidents which included how to record and report incidents. However, their knowledge was not always shared with other staff to ensure consistency and improvement.

The provider had systems in place to capture people’s feedback such as surveys. When concerns were identified, memos were sent to staff to show what feedback had been received and detailed ways to improve the service.