MacIntyre Ampthill Support

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 inspection we rated this key question Requires improvement. At this inspection 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 71 (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 at the service was positive. Staff understood their main role was to support people to have the best experiences possible. The management team had a clear vision of ‘supporting people to live their best lives’ and this was shared and embraced by the staff team. People were happy and relaxed being supported by the staff team. Staff respected people’s home and were led by people as to how they wanted to be supported and how they wanted to spend their time. People were supported to take positive risks and follow their interests and pastimes. One person said ‘‘I am very happy.’’ Other people showed us how happy and relaxed they were in the way they interacted with us and staff supporting them. They comfortably asked staff for support and staff patiently helped them with what they needed. A relative told us, ‘‘[Staff] really do ‘get’ how to support [family member]. They really do care.’’

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 told us the management team were approachable and included them in discussion about the service and how best to support people. The management team were capable in their job roles and had a good oversight of the service. They worked alongside the staff team closely and were very visible and spent time with people. This helped them to understand the way staff supported people and identify any areas they could help with further. One person said, ‘‘I always see [member of the management team]. They see how I am.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘There have been a few [management teams] in the time we have been involved with service and I must say I think the current ones are the most involved of any of them. They make an effort to put themselves in [family member and staff’s] positions and I think this really helps them to be good managers.’’

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. There was a complaint and speaking up policy in place at the service. Where people and relatives had raised concerns in the past these had been looked in to and addressed promptly. Relatives told us they knew how to raise concerns but had no reason to do so. Staff told us they knew how to raise concerns and felt comfortable and confident in speaking up at the service. People were given easy to understand information about who they could speak with if they were worried about the service or wanted to talk about anything. They were also encouraged to feed back about the service in meetings with staff members. The management team kept a record of complaints to help inform learning and make sure issues raised were not repeated. A relative told us, ‘‘I have raised issues in the past and they are always dealt with quickly.’’

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 enjoyed working at the service and felt well supported by the management team. The provider supported their equality and wellbeing by offering preferred working patterns and discussing their job roles with them regularly. The providers recruitment process was fair and equitable.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles and systems of accountability or good governance. However, there were some areas of the service where audits had not been as effective in identifying where improvements could be made. For example in relation to PRN medicine protocols not being in place, some aspects of care plans in relation to personal care not being fully detailed, staff dependency sometimes limiting people’s choice of when to go in to the community and some relatives feeling communication could be improved. The provider addressed these during our inspection and showed us how measures would be put in place to prevent these issues reoccurring.

However, most audits and governance measures at the service were effective and the management team had a good oversight of risk and the quality of people’s care and support. This covered areas such as health and safety, improvements to the service, people’s experiences and staff training and supervision. One relative said, ‘‘I have no reason to doubt the service is very well managed. [Management team] seem to know exactly what they are doing.’’

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 management and staff team had good working relationships with partners such as health professionals and local authorities. Staff supported people to be a part of their community and follow their interests and past times. People went shopping, went to work and attended local establishments such as restaurants, farms and zoos and other areas of interest on a regular basis. One person said, ‘‘I like going out and I like staying at home.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘[Staff] offer [family member] a life they really love and we are very grateful for that.’’

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement. The management team had improvement plans in place based on findings from internal and external audits and findings. Actions on improvement plans were monitored to help make sure improvements were benefitting people using the service. Staff told us they were involved in discussions and meeting about the service and their feedback about how to improve the service was listened to and taken seriously. The findings at this inspection showed there had been improvements at the service since our last inspection. People were happy with their support and relatives told us they felt the service had and continued to improve. One person said, ‘‘I have lived here for [time] and will keep living here.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘It is a service I am happy to say [family member] uses and I would say it is in the best place it has ever been.’’