Sandpiper

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 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. 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.

The management team promoted the service values within staff supervisions and held staff meetings regularly. They discussed and sought staff contribution towards annual goals and direction of the service. Staff completed positive culture training. Staff told us they could raise ideas or suggestions and would be listened to. One staff member said of team meetings, “They are very helpful to discuss any concerns we have raised.”

Staff were able to get to know people they supported well and communication between their team assisted them in providing effective support to people. Staff told us teamwork was good. A staff member said, “We are a great team, we help each other out, if we don't know anything we just ask each other.”
 

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 they felt supported by the management team and there were opportunities to share information to ensure people received care safely, this included regular staff meetings and daily handover meetings. The manager and deputy manager were very involved in the day to day running of the service and were passionate about the service. They were both relatively new in their roles and were open and honest about areas where improvements were needed. One staff member told us, “When the manager first came, they asked how everything is, we have plenty of opportunity to raise things.”

The manager of the service was in the process of applying to become the registered manager. They had the support of a regional manager and were able to make internal requests for support for people from the provider’s positive behaviour support and clinical teams, which they had done.
 

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.
The service had a whistle blowing policy and a dedicated phone number displayed in the service for staff to raise any concerns. Staff had been reminded of their responsibilities to report concerns in a recent team meeting. They were given regular opportunities to raise concerns and provide their feedback.
Staff we spoke with told us they were confident to raise concerns with the manager and that they would be listened to. One staff member told us, “If something happens I would tell the manager, any abuse I need to report and raise it.”
 

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 service employed a diverse workforce. Mandatory equality and diversity training was in place for all staff, with refresher training to maintain awareness of protected characteristics and discrimination.
Staff had the opportunity to discuss their wellbeing, job satisfaction and any support they required within their supervisions.
Staff shared various examples of how they had been supported when they had requested flexibility in their working arrangements.
Any assistance staff required to support them to manage their work life balance and health conditions was discussed as part of the recruitment process and then at regular intervals. Any reasonable adjustments staff required had been implemented. Staff meetings were repeated at different times to provide more opportunities for staff to attend and share their views.
 

The provider did not always have clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability or good governance. They did not always act on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, or share this securely with others when appropriate.

The management team completed a wide range of audits to monitor the quality and support the running of the service, including manager and provider audits. Audits reviewed a range of areas such as medicines, care planning documentation and the environment.
However, audits were completed quarterly, and work was needed to improve their effectiveness in order to identify any issues between audits. For example, to ensure changes to people’s prescribed medicines were implemented, and any necessary repairs in the environment were identified and reported. The manager used an electronic system to monitor actions from audits. However, we found several actions were recorded as being overdue. The manager told us this was due to an issue with their access to the electronic system, which was being updated, and several of the actions were complete.
The monitoring and recording of health appointments and any associated actions was not covered within the service’s current auditing schedule. The management team told us they planned to discuss this with the provider and agree how this would be monitored moving forward.
The service had displayed its CQC assessment rating on their website and at the service as required. The provider had a business continuity plan, to guide staff in emergency circumstances. People’s records were stored securely.
 

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 manager ensured referrals were made for people when the need was identified, this included referrals to other health care professionals and internal provider support teams.
The manager understood their responsibility in relation to reporting notifiable incidents to the Care Quality Commission.
Professionals provided positive feedback about Sandpiper and working with them. One health professional said, “Everybody is always very welcoming and in good spirit, I have never been to Sandpiper and ever had any concerns.”

People were supported to be a part of their local community, for example 1 person attended the local church, others visited a local café. The manager told us they had plans to support people to have more involvement in their local 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 provider ensured organisational learning was shared across its services. Information was on display in the service and shared in team meetings.
The provider’s positive behaviour support lead was supporting staff to review one person’s support, where specific areas were affecting their quality of life and others they lived with. They were working on a consistent approach to try and improve people’s outcomes. The manager had a service improvement plan to monitor progress against the improvements they had identified. The manager and deputy manager responded positively to our feedback on areas for improvement we identified and took action to share learning with the staff team.
The manager told us they were working with the staff team to improve the nutritional value of meals for people. Progress to date had included the development of new menus for people to review at their next meeting.