Folkestone Nursing 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

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 requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

The provider was previously in breach of a legal regulation relating to good governance.The provider had made the required improvements and was no longer in breach of this legal 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.

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.

Policies were in place covering equality and diversity, and the registered manager was able to tell us how they met the needs of both staff and people with regard to this. For example, people were supported by staff with a shared cultural heritage, and representatives of different faith groups visited the home to provide spiritual succour to people.

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.

There was a registered manager in place who was responsible for the day to day running of the service. They were supported by a deputy manager. The registered manager told us they had an open-door policy, and they made themselves visible and accessible to people and staff around the home. Staff spoke positively about the registered manager and the working atmosphere at the service. A member of staff said, “It’s good working here. There is a good culture of addressing mistakes in a positive way, not a blaming way.” Another member of staff said, “I like the service here, I think the people are well taken care of. The staff are very helpful.” A relative echoed these thoughts, saying, “I know the manager very well and they are very approachable.”

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

Systems were in place to enable people and staff to speak up. There was a complaints policy where people could raise concerns in a formal way with a set procedure for dealing with them. We saw some relatives and people had made compliments about the service. For example, a person had written, “Thank you for all the help and care you have given me. I have thoroughly enjoyed my stay.” Residents’ meetings were held so people could bring up issues of importance to them. Staff meetings were also held and these covered topics including updates on people and training issues. People told us they could raise concerns. A relative said, “I find the manager very approachable, and if I had to make a complaint I would certainly know how to.”

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.

We saw that the provider promoted diversity. The staff team came from a diverse cultural background, reflective of the area in which the service was located. The provider had a policy on equality and diversity to help guide practice in this area. We saw that staff recruitment was caried out in line with good practice in relation to equality and diversity.

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.

The provider had various quality assurance and monitoring systems in place. For example, the registered manager completed monthly reviews of complaints, safeguarding referrals and accidents and incidents to identify themes and areas for improvement. Various meetings were held including meeting for all staff, for senior staff and a daily meeting for all heads of department at the service to discuss important issues of the day. The registered manager carried out a monthly unannounced night-time spot checks to check that care was being carried out as it should be during the night. The operations manager carried out monthly monitoring visits, which including assessing care plans and the maintenance of the premises.

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

The registered manager told us they attended a provider forum organised by the local authority. They explained that these forums discussed developments within the care sector and sometimes included guest speakers. For instance, at the most recent a speaker delivered a presentation on good food within care homes. The provider was also a member of Skills for Care, which supported them to keep up to date with sector guidance and workforce development.

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

Staff received regular training to help them in their role. The registered manager told us they were trying to source Significant 7 training. This is training designed preventavoidable Accident and Emergency attendances and acute hospital admissions for people with complex and frail conditions. The provider had recently had a new call bell alarm system fitted throughout the home as the old one was requiring a lot of maintenance work to keep it effective.