Kirk House 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

The management team were experienced, compassionate and led by example. There was a positive culture across the service where people told us they felt heard and valued. The management team were responsive and committed to making improvements. A recent incident at the service demonstrated the management’s pro-active approach to keeping people safe and making Kirk House a safe place to live for people. Equality and diversity were embedded across the service. The service worked well with other partner agencies to collaborate for improvement. There were governance systems in place which assessed and managed the safety and quality of the service. The management team were reviewing their policies and practices to ensure they were fully embedded and understood by all staff.

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 registered manager was committed and passionate about making Kirk House a safe environment where people were put at the heart of the service. The registered manager spoke about the ‘The Kirk House Way’ which was a set of values and principles based around good quality care. The registered manager said, “We like to think we do go above and beyond to help residents and relatives to ensure we can help them as best we can. We are no different to our staff and we would not ask of them anything we would not do ourselves. Staff can approach us and ask us anything.” Staff said they appreciated the visibility of the management team and were complimentary about the support they received. One staff member said, “We have a nice culture here and people interact well with residents. This is why I love this job and why I come to work.”

There were mechanisms in place to enable staff to feedback about the day to day running of the service. Staff received supervisions and attended meetings to contribute to the good practice across the service. Staff spoke positively about the culture at the service.

There was a scheme of delegation in place, so staff understood their roles and responsibilities and concerns and issues were fed back up to management who took actions to continually improve. Staff had received relevant training from leaders who led by example. Staff were supported by the management team to enhance their own knowledge and experience in order to provide good outcomes for people.

The management team underwent their own training and were part of different initiatives to ensure they were kept up to date with changes in the health and social care sector to ensure they were able to lead staff effectively.

There was a whistle blowing policy in place and staff told us they were aware of how to speak up if they had concerns, and to whom. Staff were confident the management team would take issues and concerns seriously. A recent safeguarding issue had been dealt with in the most appropriate way, and current staff working at Kirk House had received additional and refresher training to ensure they were confident to be able to implement and adhere to the whistle blowing policy as necessary.

People and staff had access to safeguarding and whistle blowing policies and there was literature around the home about the policies so people and staff could access them at any time.

There was an inclusive culture within the service where equality and diversity was actively promoted. The registered manager gave us examples of how they had supported people and staff in meeting their needs associated with their protected characteristics.

Staff were given opportunities to discuss and celebrate diversity and were given support as needed.

Staff were involved in shared learning when things had gone wrong to prevent the risks of similar incidents reoccurring. A staff member said, “We have regular team meetings where safeguarding issues are discussed, and the lessons are learned by staff.” Following a recent safeguarding incident at the service, the management team had taken actions to improve outcomes for people.

There were mechanisms in place to support good governance and to assess and maintain accountability, safety and quality. Regular audits were completed, and actions were taken as a result of any issues identified.

There was good partnership working across throughout the service which meant people received good outcomes of joined up, and collaborated care of which people spoke positively.

Staff were supported by other professionals to ensure people had their care needs met in a way which supported people to live healthier lives and maintain independence. The registered manager had working relationships with other professionals and organisations which helped support a culture of improvement. The registered manager said, “Our clinical lead is undertaking various ongoing training courses with the council and we use the tools the local council provide to help us improve. We use resources from the workforce development and planning body for adult social care and we are in the process of building relationships with other homes in the area.”

Feedback received from the professionals currently working with the service spoke with positivity about the approach the registered manager had taken in response to the recent safeguarding issue at the service.

The registered manager had developed good working relationships with professionals and stakeholders to improve outcomes for people.

The registered manager had responded appropriately and pro-actively to a recent safeguarding incident which reflected the general culture of good care along with the continual drive for improvement across the service. Staff were passionate and dedicated to ensuring Kirk House was a safe and happy place for people to live.

There were effective systems and processes in place for improving quality with a shared approach of continuous learning and improvement.