H M T Care - 48 Albany Drive

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

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture.

At our last assessment we rated this key question Good. At this assessment the rating has remained Good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 79 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

There was a clear vision for the service focusing on people’s quality of life and providing a standard of care that enabled people to live well for as long as possible. This was embedded by systems to listen to people, and continually improve the care being provided. There were plans to further grow the service to be able to support more people. The manager told us, “My wish is for people to be happy and in control of their lives, for example going out to places like cinema and shopping as far as they can. I think we are doing well in achieving this.” People and their relatives spoke highly of the standard of specialist care being provided with one relative saying, “I have known the provider for a long time. I have been to several homes and nobody else specialises in the way they do. I am very happy.”

The provider had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

Leaders were visible and knowledgeable about the needs of people. People, staff and stakeholders we spoke with all gave us positive feedback about the approachability and competence of managers. At the time of our visit, an acting manager had been appointed and was being supported by the registered manager. They had a development plan in place to give them the confidence and skills to be able lead the service and were supported by a wider leadership team.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

There was a positive culture where people felt empowered to raise any suggestions of concerns, and there were multiple different opportunities for them to do so. This included regular team or individual meetings, surveys, informal discussions or through the Whistleblowing policy including to external bodies. Staff were spoke with felt comfortable in raising concerns and felt they would be listened to and any feedback they shared was acted upon. One staff member explained, “I get an appraisal and supervision but don’t wait for this, I can speak up at any time if I have concerns.”

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them.

Staff told us they were treated with equality, including receiving support to make reasonable adjustments for personal circumstances if required. This included if staff needed flexible arrangements to support childcare or caring responsibilities. One member of staff told us, “They are flexible with my arrangements to allow me to support my family. I can’t speak more highly of the management and how supportive they are.” Another staff member echoed this and stated “I’m happy with the management. They are very supportive of my family. Right now things are great.” Staff had all received training around equality and diversity, and felt this was actively promoted by the team they worked in.
 

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

There were clear governance systems to ensure care being delivered continued to be of a high quality. These were largely effective at identifying and remedying any areas for improvement. This included regular monitoring of incidents and accidents, staffing, environmental safety, medicines management and people’s outcomes. There were clear lines of accountability within the leadership team of who was responsible for the oversight of the service. Leaders were responsive to all areas for improvement identified during the inspection.
 

The provider clearly understood and carried out their duty to collaborate and worked in partnership, and services worked seamlessly for people. They always shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

The provider was an active participant in their wider community and formed strong and collaborative relationships with other local organisations. One person had been supported to volunteer at another local care home and told us about this with pride, and that they were supported to participate in the wider community by staff. The provider also ran a support group which was open to all people with a diagnosis of Huntington’s disease or their loved ones. We heard the positive impact this had on helping people make sense of or navigate this diagnosis or receive support in a way that was accessible to them. One relative told us, “They have support group where I can get support from others going through the same things. Before this I felt the only person in the world with this. Now I no longer feel like that.”

Partners described strong collaborative bonds with the provider, where they worked together proactively to support people to have a positive quality of life. One stakeholder told us, “They provide an excellent level of care, often going above and beyond what I would expect a care home to provide.” Another person who worked with the home told us, “48 Albany Drive have always interacted well with me. They always ask for feedback about individuals healthcare and treatment I have recommended to help their resident's. Overall, I would say it's a good home with a great management and staff team.”

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people.

There were clear systems in place to identify areas for improvement, and positive culture of where staff felt comfortable in raising concerns and were actively involved in any learning. The provider was continually looking at ways of improving the level of specialist care they provided and explained some staff members had conducted work experience at the other specialist services to further their own understanding of Huntington’s Disease to improve the level of care being provided at the service.