Interview:

Silvia Silva, Head of Care at Richardson Care in Northampton, joined the company in January 2023.

Here she talks about her role and reflects on her first two years at the specialist care service for adults with acquired brain injury or learning disabilities and complex needs.

As there is no typical day, what are you usually involved with during a typical week?

As I’m responsible for ensuring that Richardson Care delivers high quality care, my role is multi-faceted. It combines supporting the managers and ensuring that all the compliance, safeguarding and legal requirements are met so that we provide a safe, caring environment for all of our service users.

I’m the line manager for the five Registered Homes Managers, along with managers of other departments, and I aim to enable them to perform their roles as best they can. I support them with mentoring and advice regarding things like HR issues or action plans for the homes. I may be involved in Best Interest meetings or discussions about complex cases. Many of our service users have complex needs and may present with challenging behaviours, so there can be a lot of discussion around how best to support them.

I’m based at an office at The Richardson Mews so I’m around this home and The Coach House quite a lot. I also go into the other homes as and when is needed, as well as to catch up with the Manager. We are in regular contact anyway, both individually and as part of the management team. I have a weekly catch up with each manager and as well as a monthly meeting with all the managers. I’m more hands-on in a home if the manager is absent, for example on maternity leave, or if there is a change of manager.

The MDT [multi-disciplinary team of therapists] meets every week to review the care plans of our service users and I’m involved in those meetings along with the relevant Homes Manager. I’m also in regular contact with the Directors - Greg and Laura Richardson-Cheater, and the Clinical Head - Dr Pedro Areias Grilo, to make sure that we’re all up to date with what’s going on.

I conduct regular compliance audits in the homes, preparing for and attending any inspections from the CQC. I’ve been reviewing all the systems and processes, training needs, structure of meetings, governance systems, and making sure managers are on board with the latest guidance from the CQC.

I’m also the safeguarding lead at Richardson Care so I make recommendations, review policies and procedures on a weekly or monthly basis and ensure that the correct policies and procedures are being followed to safeguard service users. If there are any accidents or incidents, I ensure that these are fully investigated and reported to external agencies.

I’m also responsible for implementing new systems, for example, we are moving all the care plans, daily records and risk assessments to a new digital platform. This is important and takes time, but the attention of our service users is also a priority so I help the managers to delegate and prioritise.

How does Richardson Care stand out from other providers?

Richardson Care is an independent family business with six individual homes. What is unique for a smaller provider is that it has its own multi-disciplinary team [MDT] of clinical specialists. The MDT comprises a Consultant Neuropsychiatrist, Consultant Psychologist, Neuro Speech & Language Therapist, Neuro Physiotherapist, Neuro Occupational Therapist and Assistant Psychologists. The knowledge and expertise that the MDT brings, both for the service users and as support to the staff is outstanding. It’s very unusual to have such access to clinical expertise in residential care, even if it’s specialist care for people with acquired brain injury or learning disabilities. 

At Richardson Care we really do put the service user at the centre of their care. The whole ethos of the company is built around this.

In addition, I think that the staff are really valued. The company provides a lot of additional benefits for the staff – for example a big Christmas party, a staff conference, meals are provided, there is an excellent training programme and the company will pay for staff to take qualifications – it makes a big difference.

What are the most enjoyable aspects of your role?

I feel like I am making a positive difference – helping to create a more positive culture, working together and being more efficient and effective as a team. I also feel really supported by Laura and Greg, Pedro, and Jerry, our HR consultant. We often get together to discuss ideas for positive changes.

In addition, I’m supported by the MDT. They are extremely good professionals and I’ve learnt a lot from them all.

I really enjoy the contact that I have with the people that we support. Previously, I worked as an Area Manager for a national care organisation. Now I’m part of a smaller independent company, so I have more contact with the service users and the care staff, which makes a difference. I can see the value of the work I do on a day-to-day basis. 

Richardson Care is a family business which has been passionate about person-centred support for 35 years. I am proud to be part of a company whose core values are all about putting the service user first. 

What achievements are you most proud of in the last two years?

We’ve had four CQC inspections in two years and all of the homes are rated ‘Good’ by the CQC. We had some ‘Requires Improvement’ ratings in two of the homes previously, so I’m pleased these improvements have now been recognised. Ultimately, we want the homes to be rated ‘Outstanding’.

What are some of the qualities that you need to do your job?

You need to be flexible and able to prioritise – because the people we support are complex and can present with challenging behaviours, you can come into work one day expecting to do certain things, then there may be an incident and everything changes. I have to ensure that we assess risks to individuals or the organisation and act appropriately.

A positive attitude is very important – there is always a solution. I seek support when I need to and enjoy what I do.

There is always a lot to do, so you need to be organised. I make sure that I write everything down so I don’t miss things. I really enjoy my role and have lots of support.

What are the most challenging aspects of your role?

We work in a very regulated sector, so there are a lot of demands and expectations, but there’s also often a discrepancy between the demands and the funding to support people, so there is the challenge of meeting their needs within the financial constraints. 

Recruiting good staff into the care sector is also a challenge as care is not valued as a profession as much as it should be.

Our service users have acquired brain injury or learning disabilities and complex needs, which means that they can be challenging and unpredictable. Situations can change all the time and we have to make sure that care plans and risk assessments are always up to date.

Implementing changes, such as digitalisation, within a company is always a challenge. Not everyone is completely comfortable with new systems and people adapt to change differently. It’s important to understand that and not alienate people.

What are the biggest changes that you have implemented since you joined Richardson Care?

I think the biggest change is the change in culture – it is more positive, more collaborative and focussed on solutions; processes are more streamlined making us more efficient.

We’ve also changed the training – during the pandemic all training was online so we have now returned to more face-to-face training. There is now more input from the MDT – care staff now receive specific training from the MDT in their areas of expertise – for example, communication, mobility, the behavioural effects of brain injury, or the role of the MDT. The MDT also provides training and support to care teams in relation to the needs and rehabilitation goals of specific service users, which is a great help. Training is also tailored to address the specific concerns of staff, especially when working on a 1:1 basis with service users. 

In addition we’ve introduced more training around the introduction of the digital systems and the importance of documentation.

It’s been a very busy couple of years with lots of changes. However, things never stand still and I’m really positive about the future at Richardson Care.

Richardson Care provides specialist residential and rehabilitation services for adults with acquired brain injury or learning disabilities and complex needs in Northampton. For more information go to www.richardsoncares.co.uk or call 01604 791266.