Dent House 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 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 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.

There was a strong emphasis on culture and the registered manager collaborated closely with people, staff, and stakeholders to help promote a positive culture. The registered manager had a clear vision for how they wanted their service to operate to ensure people were at the centre of their support. Staff told us they understood how their role helped people to receive person centred care.

Staff at all levels received training to ensure they understood equality, diversity and human rights, and so they understood the need to prioritise safe, high-quality, and compassionate care. This demonstrated a positive, compassionate approach to supporting people who used their 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.

The registered manager and other leaders spent time delivering care and interacting with people, so there was a mutual respect between staff and leaders. This meant communication was open and leaders were approachable if anybody had concerns.

Supervisions and appraisals were completed on a regular basis, so staff had an opportunity to talk about their development and raise any concerns they may have, in a confidential setting.
Leaders interacted with people in a compassionate way, adapting their communication style to meet the needs of the individual. This showed they knew people well and people and their relatives confirmed to us they found leaders approachable and responsive.
 

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

The registered manager encouraged staff to raise concerns and promoted the value of doing so. The provider had a whistleblowing policy in place which had a clear procedure which described the steps a staff member would need to take to raise a concern. Staff members shared their positive feedback regarding the registered manager and the level of support available if needed. When concerns were raised, the registered manager investigated sensitively and confidentially.
 

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.

The provider had a diverse group of staff who told us they felt they were included, respected and treated equally. The provider had policies and procedures for inclusion and diversity within the workforce. For example, making sure the most suitable person was chosen for the position and recognising people’s protected characteristics and ensuring appropriate measures were in place to support these. Protected characteristics are a set of 9 characteristics that are protected by law to prevent discrimination. For example, discrimination based on age, disability, race, religion or belief, and sexuality.
 

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.

Where concerns were identified during the inspection, including issues relating to safe storage of topical medicines and the environment, the registered manager responded promptly and took immediate action, this demonstrated a commitment to identifying and addressing any areas for improvement.

Staff understood their role and responsibilities. The registered manager had clear and effective governance, management and accountability arrangements in place.

Senior leaders completed regular audits covering all aspects of the running of the home, from medication audits, accident and incident reports, maintenance checks, and IPC checks. Any identified concerns were addressed through agreed actions, which were allocated to the appropriate individuals. This demonstrated how the registered manager was looking for ways to continuously improve and be proactive in spotting potential issues before they became major concerns. For example, where a recent incident was identified leaders had completed a root cause analysis and lessons learned document. This contained information on contributing factors, the root cause, the immediate actions required, recommendations to be taken and by when.
 

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.

Care plans were based on by information gathered from people, their families, and partner organisations such as adult social care and healthcare professionals. This showed the provider took a joined-up approach to people’s care, valuing the contributions of everybody involved in people’s care.

Leaders understood the value of involving external professionals with expertise to improve people’s lives. Referrals had been made to partner agencies such as mental health teams, SALT teams and advocacy organisations.

People attended a wide range of different activities and local action, community and voluntary groups, and leaders maintained good relationships with these organisations. This helped to ensure communication was good and people benefited from regular activities in the community.
 

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. They actively contributed to safe, effective practice and research.

The registered manager had effective systems in place for documenting people’s care and support, identifying any learning opportunities and reflection to drive continuous improvement. Audit findings were routinely reviewed, with outcomes shared to all staff, informing any future action plans and enabling shared learning across the service. We saw examples of ‘You said, we did’ throughout the service which demonstrated to people, staff and visitors to the service the actions which were being taken.