Castle 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

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the service was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008. We looked at 5 of the priority quality statements that included for this assessment, safe and effective staffing, medicines optimisation, safe systems and governance and assurance. This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. There are some exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of service and these are set out in Schedule 2 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. At Castle House those occupational health related services provided to customers under arrangements made by their employer or a government department are exempt by law from CQC regulation. Therefore they did not fall into the scope of our inspection. We found no breaches of regulation.

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.

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.

We did not look at Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

We did not look at Freedom to speak up during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

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 teamwork was good and without exception, they enjoyed working in Castle House. They said the nurses and their colleagues were supportive. They told us they had good training opportunities and they attended training sessions regularly. Staff told us the culture was open and friendly and the manager had an open-door policy. Staff were confident and comfortable approaching the management team for any reason. The service had a culture of high-quality sustainable care. Staff told us that they felt respected and supported. Openness, honesty and transparency were demonstrated when responding to incidents and complaints. The provider was aware of and had systems to ensure compliance with the requirements of the duty of candour. Staff we spoke with told us they were able to raise concerns and were encouraged to do so. They had confidence that these would be addressed. All staff received regular annual appraisals in the last year. Staff were supported to do so. We were told that staff received regular newsletters which provided information about the provider’s performance and signposted to new learning.

The provider had a Freedom to Speak Up policy and guidance. Staff told us the management team were approachable and supportive. They had regular supervision sessions where they were encouraged to make suggestions for their personal and professional development. Staff we spoke to knew about the whistleblowing policy but said they would have no hesitation in speaking with a manager if they had any concerns. Staff were confident that if they reported something, appropriate actions would be taken. In 2022 the provider had become an Employee Owned Business. Employee ownership is where all employees have a 'significant and meaningful' stake in a business. This meant employees had both: a financial stake in the business for example, by owning shares and a say in how it's run, known as 'employee engagement'. Staff we spoke with told us that they felt valued having ownership in the business. Audits were regularly completed to identify areas for improvement, for example, blood pressure and spirometery. The service recorded and acted upon medicines safety alerts.

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

We did not look at Learning, improvement and innovation during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.