National Care Group are committed to giving the individuals we support and our staff every opportunity to speak up about any issues or concerns they may have within our services. Mike Cleasby, Quality Director, has taken a proactive approach with this initiative by completing his training and becoming the ‘Freedom to Speak Up Guardian’ for National Care Group.

As a ‘guardian’, Mike will help create a positive culture where speaking up is fostered, and ensure lessons are learnt to help improve the experience of our staff and the individuals we support.

Mike commented on how being a guardian will help the service provide excellent person-centred care: “Being a guardian allows me to be another channel of support for people to speak up and ensure the feedback I receive is being handled and used for learning. This lesson learnt approach will benefit National Care Group in terms of understanding how we can further improve the care we provide and that our services have an inclusive culture in which people can thrive and unlock their potential.”

Mike joins over 500 ‘Freedom to Speak’ guardians across the UK, supporting workers in NHS Trusts, independent providers of healthcare, primary care, and a wide variety of other healthcare organisations.

As a national care provider to nearly 1,200 individuals and an employer to over 2,200, it is our duty to create an environment in which people can raise concerns, make a disclosure, and provide suggestions for improvement.

Mike, who is dedicated to ensuring quality of care is of the highest standards, will play a key role in encouraging our staff and support the individuals receiving care to speak up.