Care Sante Kent

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

People and their relatives thought the service was well run, with a positive and caring culture. They knew who to speak to with any concerns and were comfortable doing this. They also were regularly asked for their opinions on how the service was and issues used as part of quality assurance. Staff were positive about the registered manager, however some of them raised concerns about the lack of support for the registered manager since the provider had changed. They felt communication could be improved between the office and care staff. The manager told us there was an emergency duty phone number that covered all care call times. However, not all staff were aware of this. The registered manager and provider completed a variety of quality assurance audits, monitoring people and staff documentation as well as the daily running of the service. They had oversight of concerns and a clear action plan to manage these going forward.

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.

Staff were positive about working for Care Sante Kent. They felt that staff were all kind, caring and worked together to achieve an open and transparent culture. One staff member said, “It’s a great place to work everyone works well together as a team. There’s a lot of good communication and everything gets communicated really well.” Staff told us they always considered how they or their loved ones would want to be treated when they provided care. One staff member said, “I would recommend Care Sante as a good place to work. I recently recommended a friend to work with us…..We are a good team.” Another staff member told us, “My motto is to treat everyone like they are my own family or myself.” The registered manager shared how important the culture in the service was and what they looked for in staff to ensure this positive. The registered manager said, “Communication, respect, transparency, trust. These are the values I look for when recruiting staff – their motivation, knowledge, experience, demeanor, personal values shaped by their background.”

We viewed staff documentation completed when they were interviewed by the registered manager. Questions were appropriate to the job role and reflected on staff values. The registered manager showed us their action plan to improve the service. There was evidence of supervisions, appraisals and meetings where staff were encouraged to share their views and contribute to the running of the service. People and staff had been invited to complete satisfaction questionnaires; the registered manager showed us where these had been reviewed and any actions that had been taken as a result.

We did not look at Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

Staff gave positive feedback about their experiences of sharing information and speaking to management about concerns. One staff member said, “I can raise concerns to management and go further up. If I feel a concern needs to be dealt with, I would deal with it straight away. I feel confident with the management to action any concerns I have raised with them.” Staff told us they received questionnaires from the company asking for their feedback about the service. There was an option to complete these anonymously if chosen. One staff member said, “We had a questionnaire come through to us by email and we didn’t need to put our names on it but a lot of us did because we felt comfortable as we have nothing to hide.” The registered manager talked to us about these questionnaires and how they ensure feedback is collated from all people, regardless of their communication needs and preferences. The registered manager said, “Care Sante send client surveys annually. Non-verbal clients can give feedback through their body language, family and carer knowledge of them, and some clients have iPads or other technology that will assist them to communicate. We invite people to give feedback at a time most right for them, for example, when they can have family physically present, who often speak for those who can’t.”

We viewed a complaints policy that was regularly reviewed and shared with staff and people. The whistleblowing policy was shared regularly with staff and detailed actions to take should staff feel concerned about management. There were contact details for other professionals to contact such as the LA safeguarding team and CQC. We saw the latest feedback from people and staff in the feedback questionnaires. Feedback was mostly positive and highlighted any themes or trends. Although feedback was collated from all branches of Care Sante, the registered manager advised they would look into results specifically from the Kent office in future. The registered manager had identified several staff concerns through the questionnaires, such as the reliability of the electronic signing in system and staff feeling rushed between calls.

We did not look at Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

Overall, staff fed back that they felt the service was managed well by the registered manager and they were positive about the support they received. One staff member said, “The management is great. The registered manager is easy to approach and is really friendly.” Other descriptions of the registered manager from staff were, “They are outgoing and very supportive. We get on really well with them and I have no complaints” and, “My manager has always provided feedback and informed me what’s been done about it. I can contact them anytime via phone or email.” However, several staff members raised concerns about the provider’s lack of support of the registered manager since Care Sante had taken over. They told us there was no deputy and that care co-ordinators were busy covering calls and therefore not always available to support. On the occasion that the person on duty was supporting with a care call, staff expressed their concern that no-one else was available for them to speak to in an emergency. However, the registered manager said as well as an on call emergency duty line, there was also a emergency WhatsApp group for office staff to communicate with one another. Staff also feedback that due to less office staff being available, communication had not been as efficient. When we addressed this with the registered manager, they said, “The nominated individual has always been great since they took over; they are currently on maternity leave but still there at any time I need, and very supportive and hands on. I feel the same with the Quality Assurance manager and HR manager, so from a support point of view, it’s more support than I have ever had.” However, the registered manager was already aware of staff concerns and the need to employ more staff and this was part of their action plan for improvement. The registered manager explained how they had oversight of the service and completed a number of audits, with support from the provider.

We viewed the audits completed by the registered manager of people’s and staff documentation. Most information was up to date, factual and relevant. Where areas of improvement had been identified, actions had been taken. Care co-ordinators were completing spot checks and reviews. The service was also advertising for an Assessor to specifically support people during initial assessment. Correspondence between the registered manager, people and staff was clear and professional, reflecting their values.

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.

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.