Clarence 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

At our last inspection we found concerns in relation to governance. At this inspection we saw the provider had embedded systems to drive improvements and the audit process was effective.

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 management team told us they gave people, their relatives and staff forums where they could discuss ideas and suggestions and be part of the development of the service. Staff felt involved in the home and told us the management team supported them.

The provider had systems in place to support engagement with people, their relatives and staff. We saw regular meetings, handovers and flash meetings took place. Where these systems identified issues, actions were taken, and staff were involved and informed where they had gone wrong.

Staff told us the management team were approachable and felt staff morale had improved. One staff member said, Managers are approachable and supportive.” Staff felt that improvements had been made since the last inspection and they enjoyed working at the home.

The registered manager was supported by a deputy manager and a team of senior carers and nurses. Management oversight had improved since our last inspection, ant the management team had a better working relationship with each other.

Staff and leaders felt listened to and felt they had the autonomy to speak up if they needed too.

People and their relatives were periodically asked to complete a survey about the home and the support they or their family member received. Staff had access to the whistle blowing policy and had the opportunity to discuss any concerns during one to one sessions and team meetings.

Staff told us the registered manager and deputy manager were leading the home well and improving the service. Staff felt they could approach the management team and felt listened to. The registered manager said, “We support staff to enable them to deliver person centred care.”

The provider had policies and procedures in place to ensure workforce equality, diversity and inclusion was promoted. The manager told us staff were treated fairly. The provider followed employment laws and tried to support staff. Staff had access to a staff handbook and training policy. The provider had a flexible working arrangement policy. Systems were in place to support staff out of office hours and at a weekend. Members of the management team were on call to support staff if required.

The management team explained the governance systems in place and felt these had improved since our last inspection. They said systems and processes in place were now supporting them to manage and lead the service effectively.

Processes in place to manage the service had improved since our last inspection. The registered manager could evidence manager’s walk rounds took place daily, and issues identified were addressed at the time of the walk round. Flash meetings took place daily with all heads of department to discuss pertinent issues about the day. A ‘resident of the day’ system had been introduced and was used to ensure staff focused on updating the persons care plan, speaking with people and relatives to ensure they were satisfied with the service and discussing dietary requirements and social activity preferences with people. The regional manager completed monthly visits to the service to ensure the provider had oversight of the service and offered support to the management team.

People were provided with support from a range of services to help meet their needs. One relative said, “The GP visits regularly and they [staff] always call and let me know if there is any change in [relatives] condition. [Relative] also saw an optician a month ago.” One person said, “A physio comes to help me get my legs going again.”

Staff told us several health and social care professionals were involved in supporting people. We spoke with staff about engagement with the local community and they told us sometimes entertainers visited the home.

The staff and management team worked with external professionals, however, professionals felt this could be improved. One professional said, “They [staff] require a lot of input when it comes to improving their service, they need to be told where they are not doing well and do not recognise it themselves. They rely on healthcare professional visiting the home to pick up on errors before making improvements. They are accepting of help and any areas of improvement or recommendations put to them.” Another healthcare professional was happy that the home maintained contact with them and had raised concerns regarding people. However, 1 healthcare professional said, “At times it has appeared that staff may have been contacting with dated information, therefore making it difficult for us to identify timeframes and current presentation.”

We saw evidence that professionals visited the service to support staff to care for people. We saw people's care plans included referrals to healthcare professionals as and when required. The management team felt the service worked well with external professionals.

The management team told us that several improvements had been made since our last inspection. They said they had worked hard to address the concerns and to improve the service.

Since our last inspection the provider and management team had listened to feedback and took appropriate actions to address previous breaches. Systems and practices around infection prevention and control had improved. Care plans were more detailed, and staff were now completing more face to face training. These processes showed the service had improved.