Ernest Bold Resource Centre

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 outstanding. At this assessment the rating has remained to outstanding.

This meant service leadership was exceptional and distinctive. Leaders and the culture they created drove and improved high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 89 (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 very clear shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and an exceptional understanding of the challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

There was a clear focus from all to provide a high-quality service for people. Leaders and all staff had adopted the philosophy and culture of the service and created a person centred, safe environment for people during their stays. The staff team often went above and beyond to promote and deliver this for people. For example, 1 person had become unwell during their stay whilst their family were on holiday. This had resulted in a hospital admission. The staff team recognised how distressing this was for the person and their family. During the person’s stay in hospital they ensured 1 to 1 staffing was in place day and night and regularly updated and remained in contact with the family through video calls. Once the person began to get better, they cooked foods the person liked at Ernest Bold Resource Centre and took them into the hospital to enable them to eat the food they enjoyed and improve their health and wellbeing. This demonstrated the unique positive culture of the staff team and service.

The staff team together during 1 of their team events had developed the ‘positive culture promise’, which was displayed as a poster boldly in the entrance to the service. The promise focused on people and their journeys and emphasised ways of working which the staff team had all signed up to. This included, ‘respect for each other and their views, inspiring creativity and a positive attitude and a warm welcome”. Staff were proud to be part of the team and spoke positively about this. One staff member told us, “It’s a lovely place to work, we are a really good team, all aiming for the same positive outcomes for people.”

Staff were actively encouraged by the registered manager and other team members to identify and raise concerns if needed to create an open, honest and transparent culture within the home.

The provider had exceptionally 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 always did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

There was an emphasis in staff supervision on learning and improvement. The registered manager held targeted 1 to1 meetings with staff and produced a CQC bulletin. They told us, “I was a CQC champion in early 2025 during the period of CQC assessment for Wolverhampton Social Care [the provider]. I took part in meetings, shared relevant information with the team via bulletins and team meetings. Again, to be sure on the team’s awareness of important topics, I created a targeted 1 to 1 for everyone. This identified each staff members knowledge and also areas to be developed.” The registered manager also delivered ‘a getting to good CQC session’ with the whole staff team, which was interactive. From that session they all developed an action plan which they completed together. The registered manager felt this had, “Heightened staffs’ awareness and allowed for some creative thoughts to be shared and included.” We reviewed the agenda and exercise for this which was proactive and innovative.

The registered manager had developed a culture which enabled staff to lead on day-to-day tasks and the development of the service. Two Staff had completed the trainer moving and handling course. Staff told us this had helped develop a personal approach to equipment and each individual’s needs, enabling them to assess and meet people’s needs in the event of emergency respite stays or changes in presentation.

There were systems in place to ensure all staff understood their roles and responsibilities and there were clear lines of delegation. We had been notified of events that had happened within the service in line with the provider’s legal responsibility to so do.

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

People and relatives were happy to raise and share concerns. They were confident action would be taken. One relative said, “No complaints. If there has been it was mild and sorted straight away.” Another relative told us, “No concerns, but they would respond to concerns.”

There was a whistleblowing policy in place and staff were aware of this and the procedures they needed to follow. The service had created an open-door policy where staff were able to speak up and share their concerns, they felt assured action would be taken.

The provider strongly valued diversity in their workforce. They had an inclusive and fair culture which had improved equality and equity for people who worked for them.

Staff felt they were treated in an inclusive way, and their diverse needs were considered. All staff spoke exceptionally positively about their positive workplace experiences.

The providers recruitment process was inclusive and considered staffs’ individual needs. The provider had successfully recruited a staff member with a protective characteristic into 1 of their employment roles. The registered manager had worked alongside them to consider their individual needs to ensure they had sufficient guidance and tools to complete their role. Together with the staff member, they had developed a pictorial rota/schedule of their duties to enable them to understand their role and complete their daily tasks in a planned succinct way which worked for the individual. The staff member told the registered manager that the pictorial schedule allowed them to know what their duties were using the pictures provided. This meant staff and people using the service had their individual diverse needs recognised, celebrated and met and there was an inclusive and equitable culture actively promoted.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance.

There were audits in place which monitored the care the people received during their stay at the service, these audits included the management of medicines and infection prevention and control systems. There was a system in place to monitor and review accidents and incidents that had occurred. Oversight audits were also completed by the registered manger to ensure a more robust overall oversight of safety and quality. All audits were effective in identifying areas of improvement and making changes where needed.

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.

There were fully embedded and developed systems in place to ensure the provider worked in partnership with other agencies and professionals to ensure care was safely delivered to people. As part of this assessment, we asked professionals for feedback. We received positive feedback from professionals that had been involved with this service.

The staff told us about the innovative ways they had worked in partnership with professionals to develop positive outcomes for the people they supported. For example, a team leader in the service, worked alongside a dentist to develop a dental publication package. The leaflet offered top tips on oral health care as well as pictorial guidance on how to manage oral health effectively. This was then delivered as a session to people and shared with families. Staff spoke positively about this and felt it had encouraged and improved the oral health of some of the people they supported. One staff member told us how it helped encourage people to take ownership of cleaning their teeth.

The provider had worked to resolve a transport issue for a person who attended the service. Due to ongoing issues, the family had cancelled the stays and staff felt disappointment for the person as the person enjoyed their stays. The staff coordinated a multidisciplinary meeting where the person, the family, transport services and other professionals attended. The staff member arranged and chaired the meeting, which led to a successful outcome and the person now regularly attends Ernest Bold Resource Centre. The registered manager told us, “Without the proactive response of Ernest Bold, the person would still not be receiving any services.”

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system.

We found an exceptional culture of continuous learning and improvement. The quality checks and audits completed at the service benchmarked the support people received and the registered manager developed innovative systems to build on this. For example, the registered manager told us about a medicines pilot they had introduced after medicines errors had occurred. They had identified through their systems and analysis that 2 person administration was distracting for staff. In response, they developed, trailed and subsequently implemented a 1-person administration approach. During the trail period, feedback was sought weekly from staff. One staff member told us, “We were part of this and we gave feedback on this, our opinions were valued.”

Following the trial period, it was identified that medicines errors had reduced. With the input of the staff team, it was agreed that this had been successful and this has been continued into practice on a permanent basis.

There were systems in place which were used to drive improvements throughout the home. For example, when incidents had occurred, the registered manager ensured lessons were continually learnt and there was a continual emphasis on developing an improved service for people. The process ensured all members of the staff team were actively involved, which gave them ownership of the changes that were introduced.

The registered manager had developed a service improvement plan, which focused on the learning and development of the service. Within the plan there was a focus on developing better outcomes for people. Actions identified included to re-commence service users being part of the recruitment process. This ensured people were in control and had a say on the staff that supported them during their visits. Another action was to implement and introduce a ‘you said, we did board’, and a ‘lesson learnt board’ in the home, with people who used the service taking the lead with these. to the registered manager was also working to establish more innovative ways for people to be involved with meetings and forums so that the service could continue to identify areas of interest for people, utilise communication aids and work towards more robust and meaningful goal set alongside individuals.