Royal Garden Hotel

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 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 a supportive environment where people were encouraged to maintain their lifestyles. The provider’s ethos was to promote people’s independence, people and staff understood this vision, a staff member told us, “It's unique here it's very warm and friendly and welcoming.” People and their relatives described the service as feeling like a family community and spoke positively about the opportunities for engagement and the efforts made to make people feel at home. Feedback from people and relatives was listened to and acted upon, including improvements to activities and menu choices in response to suggestions. A relative said, “They do have resident meetings which relatives can attend too. I mentioned when [person] first went there that I thought they could provide more activities. They have really improved the activities now; there is so much on offer for the residents.” Staff described an open culture and provided examples of suggestions they had made to support people’s experience and wellbeing.

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 nominated individual were actively involved in the day to day running of the service. People and their relatives told us the management team were accessible and responded promptly when issues were raised. Comments included, “Everything runs like clockwork. The owner, manager and deputy all have offices in the building so one of them is always around. They have managed a small concern of mine and dealt with it straight away, with a satisfactory outcome.” The leadership team promoted a positive culture and supported staff to deliver compassionate care, contributing to high levels of satisfaction amongst people and relatives.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. The provider fostered a culture where people, relatives and staff felt able to raise concerns, share feedback and contribute ideas for improvement. People knew who to approach if they had concerns and gave examples of issues being dealt with promptly and openly. Meetings, surveys and casual discussions were used to gather views and improvements were made in response. Staff described an open culture where they could approach the management team if they had concerns. Staff had access to the provider’s whistle-blowing policy and told us what steps they would take if they needed to speak up.

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 supported an inclusive culture where staff wellbeing was valued and respected. The management team was described as flexible and supportive, helping staff feel included and able to contribute to the running of the service. Staff spoke about positive working relationships amongst the team, a staff member commented, “I like working there as the residents are great, I love them, you can have a good chat with them and find out about their lives. In general staff and management are fine, we all get on which is the main thing, happy staff means happy residents.” Another staff member said, “I can definitely go to the manager, no matter what, personal or work matter.” Adjustments were made for staff to have time off or continue their role during difficult times in their personal lives.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles and systems of accountability; however, governance processes required some strengthening. Governance processes included audits and quality monitoring checks carried out by the management team and designated champion roles amongst staff. Some systems were not always fully effective in identifying and addressing all areas which needed improvement. We identified some shortfalls relating to recruitment records, care documentation and risk management which had not been recognised through quality assurance processes. We identified areas where safeguarding oversight could be strengthened. These findings indicated that governance arrangements did not always provide effective oversight. However, the registered manager engaged positively throughout the assessment process, responded constructively to our feedback and described actions already taken, or planned, to reaffirm and embed governance systems, improve record keeping and ensure greater oversight of the service. The registered manager showed us areas they had already worked on to improve people’s experience; feedback from people and staff were positive about the new initiatives.

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. People and their relatives described positive working relationships staff had with GPs, district nurses and other healthcare professionals, they told us referrals were made promptly when required. We saw appropriate referrals had been made to support people with their health needs. Health and social care professionals provided positive feedback about the service. Some comments included, “I have been visiting Royal Gardens for over five years now, and it has always been one of my favourite care homes. The concept is excellent and unique, giving residents as much independence as possible while remaining responsive to their changing needs whenever possible.” And, “I believe that the service is well run and the residents are well cared for, treated with respect and seem happy.”

People were also supported to remain connected with their local communities through activities, social events and community involvement that reflected their interests and preferences. The service held fetes, events and parties. Visitors and entertainers were invited into the service to benefit people, this included farm animals and children groups during Christmas and Halloween.
 

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 management team encouraged learning from feedback and people’s experiences. Feedback from people and their relatives resulted in service improvements, including developments to activities, mealtimes and other aspects of the service. Changes had been made to processes, for example, the chef now attended residents’ meetings as meals were often high on the agenda. Staff described where they were encouraged to contribute to improvements to enhance their working lives and people’s experiences. The registered manager told us they and the nominated individual belonged to industry related groups, and they attended forums and workshops as well as being signed up to receive email updates to keep up to date with current practices and guidance.