Whittingham House

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

There was a positive culture at the service. The registered manager and staff had worked collaboratively to make improvements to care provision. Governance and management systems, and information about risks, performance, and outcomes were used effectively to improve care. Staff were very positive about their roles and the support they received from the senior team.

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.

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

The registered manager was very visible within the service. Staff told us they felt supported by the registered manager who had given them clear direction on how to make improvements at the service. One member of staff said, “I have clear responsibilities now and know what it is I need to focus on.”

The registered manager was appointed by the provider following the last inspection as they have a proven record of leadership in services that provide positive outcomes for people. They have used their skills and knowledge to engage with people, relatives, staff and external providers to address the previous issues at the service.

Staff told us they felt confident to raise any issues with the registered manager and felt these would be addressed. One member of staff said, “The manager is very friendly and easy to talk to. We talk about mistakes if something goes wrong, we have a meeting to discuss and learn.”

The registered manager has policy and processes for staff to follow on ‘whistle blowing’. These were clearly displayed in staff areas and were managed by an external organization to the provider. The registered manager promoted an open culture to encourage staff to speak up about concerns and also to share positive ideas they may have about the running of the service.

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.

Staff told us they had been developed through learning and now had clear responsibilities at the service to match their roles. The registered manager had created a number of staff champions, giving individual members of staff additional responsibility and focus. There were staff champions for infection control, dining experience, nutrition, skin care, sepsis and dementia. One member of staff said, “I am responsible for weights and making sure weights are completed and highlighting if there are any issues.”

Systems were in place to monitor and review the quality of care and experiences of people. This included holding meetings with people and relatives and gaining their feedback through surveys. The registered manager had implemented a number of audits to monitor all aspects of the service, which gave then a good oversight. The registered manager had given staff a clear direction of their vision for the service and how improvements were to made and maintained. Staff understood their role in making and sustaining improvements.

The registered manager had developed good links and worked closely with the GP and district nurse services to ensure seamless care for people. Staff had worked in partnership with visiting healthcare professionals to support their treatment and assessments of people using the service. Before people came to the service a thorough assessment was completed to ensure their needs could be met. This included liaising with other professionals such as social workers or referrals from hospital staff. The registered manager had made good links with a local faith organisation who regulalry visited the service to enagage with people and provide various social activities for people.

The registered manager had engaged with the local authority quality improvement team to act following the last inspection and implement improvements at the service.

The registered manager shared with us they had implemented several systems to aid learning, improvement and innovation at the service. Staff had been supported to develop their skills through face learning, development of their roles and regular staff meetings. There was also bite size learning sessions during handovers and staff were encouraged to fill in feedback forms to share any ideas they may have. The registered manager had implemented a number of tools at the service to help drive the improvements. This included having a dependency tool that provided a snapshot for the registered manager to be able to review and assess the needs of people using the service at anytime. They had also implemented colour coding descriptions of risk to make it easy for staff to identify people’s needs. Working with the GP there were now systems in place to review people and their medicines regularly. There was a new admission and assessment process in place to ensure staff had all the information they needed before a decision was made if their needs could be met at the service.

The registered manager had implemented a number of tools at the service to help drive the improvements. This included having a dependency tool that provided a snapshot for the registered manager to be able to review and assess the needs of people using the service at anytime. They had also implemented colour coding descriptions of risk to make it easy for staff to identify people’s needs. Working with the GP there were now systems in place to review people and their medicines regularly. There was a new admission and assessment process in place to ensure staff had all the information they needed before a decision was made if their needs could be met at the service.