WEF Care

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

The service was well- managed and it promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

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 promoted shared vision and strategy for a service that is compassionate and caring. Leaders promoted the principles of "quality over quantity". The new manager told us they temporarily suspended admissions to the service so they could ensure that current clients receive care that is person centred and of high standard. Staff understood equality, diversity and human rights, and prioritised safe, high-quality, compassionate care. Staff knew WEF care values and told us there was a culture of treating people with respect and dignity. Staff told us about the the “We Care For You” mission statement that was promoted to all staff by the leaders.

There was equality and diversity policy in place. WEF care's values were promoted to staff as part of staff induction, support sessions and team meetings. There was a "We Care For You” mission statement that applied to staff and people who use the service and everyone was aware of it.

The provider recently recruited a new manager who was in the process of registration with CQC. The leaders were experienced and modelled inclusive behaviour.The leaders worked well together to ensure that the organisational vision of good quality care could be delivered. Care staff spoke highly about the leaders. The comments included, "There has been positive changes since the new manger has brought some structure and stability"; "The service management is very good"; "Management is very efficient, new manager made a positive difference. I have confidence in them [management]".

There was safe, effective and inclusive recruitment processes that promoted high-quality leadership. The provider told us how they took time to ensure that an appropriate and highly experienced manager was recruited, There were processes in place to ensure leader's competency was maintained, for example through continuous professional development.

Staff told us they felt confident to raise concerns, both internally and externally. Staff told us they had the opportunity to speak up and share their feedback, good or bad because the company had an open door policy and one of the leaders were always available to speak to. Staff told us they could also share their views anonymously, for example in the staff surveys. Staff told us their feedback was mostly acted on. For example one staff told us about recent positive changes to the rooster system to help staff maintain better work life balance.

There was a whistleblowing policy that all staff were aware of. We saw that staff followed the policy and shared concerns appropriately when they had concerns. There were processes to gather staff feedback , for example through surveys. We saw the survey's results were analysed and acted on. There was an open door policy that staff were reminded of. There was a culture of speaking up and leaders investigated all concerns thoroughly. Lessons were learnt and people received apologies when things went wrong.

Leaders told us that staff were representative of the population of people using the service. They continually reviewed the culture of the organisation in the context of equality, diversity and inclusion. Staff told us the culture of the service was fair and inclusive and they shared no concerns about discrimination. Leaders told us that reasonable adjustments were made to support staff to carry out their role well, for example changes to working hours for staff who had childcare responsibilities. Staff told us they felt confident to share their ideas to create a more inclusive organisation.

The provider was aware of legislation relevant to workforce equality, diversity and inclusion, for example The Equality Act. Provider's own policies, including the equality and diversity were in line with the legislation. We saw examples of how flexible working arrangements were implemented to support staff.

Staff told us they were fully aware of their roles and responsibilities and knew what was expected of them. Leaders gave us examples of how they took accountability for performance of staff, for example when additional support was required or when gross misconduct took place and staff member was consequently dismissed. The leaders understood their responsibility to share information and submit notifications to external agencies, including the Local Authority and CQC. Leaders told us about tools they used to assure themselves that the care and support provided to people was of high standard, for example a range of audits they completed.

There were systems to manage current and future performance and risks to the quality of the service. We saw a range of audits and quality assurance tools that were effective in identifying areas for improvements. When areas for improvements were identified we saw leaders either auctioned them immediately or made an action plan to address it as quickly as reasonably possible. There was a clear governance structure in place that all staff were aware of. All staff were aware of who they can escalate their ideas or concerns to. We saw that leaders consistently submitted data and notifications to external partner agencies.

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

Leaders told us about the improvement plans they had, for example implementing additional end of life care training for all staff and increasing face to face training. Staff told us they had opportunity to learn through regular training courses and continuous professional development. For example all staff were required to complete a Care Certificate within the first 12 weeks of employment. The Care Certificate is an agreed set of standards that define the knowledge, skills and behaviours expected of specific job roles in the health and social care sectors. Staff told us they felt confident to share their ideas to improve the service with the leaders and they felt listened to.

There were processes to ensure that learning happens when things go wrong, and from examples of good practice. Leaders shared outcomes of safeguarding investigations and accidents and incidents at the service with the staff to encourage reflection and reduce the risk of re-occurring.