Fernbrook 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

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.

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. The culture of the service was person-centred. The registered manager and staff had a well-developed understanding of equality, diversity and human rights, and they prioritised safe, high-quality, compassionate care. The registered manager told us they felt well supported by the provider who kept them up to date and included them in decisions about the service.

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. Staff felt supported with training and told us communication was good with frequent meetings. One member of staff said, “We have team meetings and talk about any training, equipment needed, advantages and disadvantages of how we work, any mistakes and learning.” Another member of staff said, “Everyone works well together as a team. We have a good team here.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where staff felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Staff told us they felt confident to raise concerns with the registered manager or provider and that these would be listened to and addressed. Staff were supported with regular supervision and staff meetings where the processes of raising concerns were discussed and supported.

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for staff who worked for them. Staff had access to equality training to help them understand about protected characteristics, bullying and harassment. The registered manager told us staff were recognised for the work they did during staff meetings and supervision. Staff told us they felt they received support from the registered manager, and they enjoyed working at the service as part of a good team.

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 registered manager had good oversight of the service and was supported in their role by the provider and area manager. Audits were in place to monitor all aspects of the service including people’s care needs, the environment and staffing performance. Feedback was obtained from people during meetings, and we saw where they raised requests or concerns, these were addressed.

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 worked with the local authority to investigate safeguarding concerns and shared information appropriately. We received positive feedback from health care professionals who worked with the service who told us communication was good. Activity staff had developed links in the local community to support people going out for social groups and activities in the local area.

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 was a learning culture at the service with learning shared from incidents, accidents, safeguarding and complaints, to inform and improve on-going care. Staff were encouraged to develop their skills and attend training provided at the service from external trainers to keep their skills up to date. Staff told us if they felt they needed further training they just needed to ask for this and it would be facilitated.