The Old Downs Dementia Residential Care Home

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

We found the service continued to be well led. The provider had oversight of the service and completed regular audits to identify any shortfalls. Staff were supported to raise concerns and make suggestions. The provider supported staff diversity and was inclusive. The service worked well with external partners and involved the local community and groups as much as possible.

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.

The operations manager told us they held regular meetings with staff to share the provider’s objectives and values. The management team held regular staff meetings where they discussed issues about the service and ways to promote the organisational values. Staff showed they were committed to providing a good service that met people’s needs. They told us they had received the training they needed to carry out their roles effectively. They told us they had the leadership support they needed to perform their duties effectively.

There was no registered manager at the time of our visit. There were effective systems in place to make sure there was adequate management support available for staff. The operations manager provided leadership to staff, they were present at the service 2 or 3 days a week. Staff were also supported by a registered manager from another of the provider's services, the rest of the time.

The operations manager explained the current structure in place for staff. The operations manager worked in the service 2-3 days a week. There were two deputy managers and senior care staff who supported the management of the service. Staff knew who to go to if they needed support. Staff told us their managers were supportive, understanding and approachable, they could go to them any time for support.

There were processes in place to gather feedback from staff, this had been completed regularly and staff feedback was positive. Staff had received appropriate training for their role, staff competency had been checked to make sure staff were providing support to the standard expected. Staff received regular supervision and appraisals to identify any training needs they may have. There were processes in place to provide new staff with a comprehensive induction.

Staff told us, "We get regular supervisions and group meetings where we discuss any concerns we have." The operations manager explained the provider had a whistle blowing policy and supported staff to speak up without comeback. Staff told us how they reported medication errors, for example, “We go onto Care Vision and complete a medication error form, speak to the manager, call 111/999 and report it to safeguarding.” Staff told us there were lots of meetings and opportunities for people, relatives and staff to speak up. One staff member said, “There are carer meetings, senior carer meetings, kitchen meetings, we are really encouraged to speak up, and we do this because our residents are at the heart of everything we do.”

The provider has a whistle blowing policy in place. We saw posters around the home on how to whistle blow and staff had also received training. Staff attended regular staff meetings, records confirmed staff were supported to speak up either in the meetings or on an individual level.

Staff told us they felt valued in their role and were supported when their circumstances changed. Staff told us they worked with the management team to make sure they were working safely. Staff gave examples where they had been able to work flexibly to meet their responsibilities at home.

The provider had policies and procedures in place to support equality and diversity including their recruitment procedure. Staff were supported to discuss how they could be supported to work effectively.

The quality of the service was scrutinised regularly. The operations manager explained the tools they used to assess the quality of the service. They explained how they took action when shortfalls were found.

There were processes in place to monitor the quality of the service. This included incidents and accidents being analysed to identify patterns and treads. For example, if there were high levels of falls in the lounge area at around the same period then they looked at staffing levels in they that area. Other audits included infection control, health and safety checks were carried out regularly and medication audits were completed.

People told us, they were supported to see their GP and the district nurse when needed. People enjoyed the activities and meeting people from outside of the service including local school children.

Staff told us that many people enjoyed the visits from the Vicar and the Church services; no one currently in the home was practicing a different religion to Christianity. One staff member said, “They loved the hymns they sang yesterday, one person said, “I remember singing this in Sunday School!”” Staff told us how they liaised with external organisations to provide appropriate activities to people. For example, regular performance and entertainments, Guide dogs and pets’ visits. People and their families are engaged regularly through meetings, events for example BBQ and activities.

Partners were positive about working with the staff at the service and this had a positive outcome for people. The home had a minibus they used to transport people on outings. People were supported with activities they enjoyed. There was a well-being lead who coordinated activities in the service, they planned activities looking at people’s interests and capabilities.

There were effective processes in place to make sure staff worked with healthcare partners to support people's wellbeing.

Staff told us, they were kept informed of changes and improvements at the service. These included when incidents had happened and changes were made to reduce the risk of them happening again.

There were systems to make sure learning was shared when things go wrong including meetings, supervision and training. Staff are involved to think of ways to improve the service. The provider had a service improvement plan in place which was being completed which included improvements to the garden and the environment.