Chestnut Lodge

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 82 (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.

We observed staff were respectful, caring and passionate about providing good quality care to people living at Chestnut Lodge. Chestnut Lodge aimed to provide an environment that felt more like a family than a care home and to treat people with dignity and respect, recognising their individual needs and preferences. It was clear the provider's values and ethos of putting people at the heart of the service was embedded and was reflected in everything staff did. The culture of the service was person centred and inclusive. Personalised care based on equal rights for all, was pivotal to the services beliefs and operation. This was bought about through clear leadership and through the values and goals shared by all.

Management had put into daily practice clear passion and strong commitment to ensure people received the best service. Staff told us they were happy working at Chestnut Lodge, everyone worked well as a team and management were very supportive. A person told us “we are all friends, with each other and the staff”. A relative said, “it’s a proper home from home. A very warm welcoming environment”.

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.

Management was visible and led by example. For example, they worked shifts to cover staff sickness. Staff told us that they felt supported by management, who were approachable and always made time for them. One staff member told us, “The management team at Chestnut Lodge is fantastic. I know that I can go to them if I have any problems. I never feel that I am unable to speak with management if I have concerns.” Another staff member told us, “They have always responded to my communications, even out of hours.” We received positive feedback about management from all relatives we spoke to. One relative told us, “The registered manager makes themself very available and is always willing to discuss any issues.” Another relative commented, “The registered manager is very easy to speak to and is very open about everything.”

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

Chestnut Lodge had policies and procedures in place to support staff in speaking up and raising concerns, posters were displayed throughout the service. This included up to date policies in relation to safeguarding and whistleblowing. Staff and relatives stated they felt able to raise anything they felt was important. One staff member told us, “If I had concerns, I would report to management…..Management is quick to deal with anything that is ever needed in the home.” A relative said, “I would not have any concerns about talking to the registered manager if I wasn’t happy about something.”

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 had completed equality, diversity and inclusion training. We received positive feedback from staff about working Chestnut Lodge. Staff told us they enjoyed working at Chestnut Lodge and they worked as a team.

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.

Without exception, people, relatives and staff told us the management team were knowledgeable and supportive, helping staff develop in their roles.The home had clear arrangements for accountability and improvement using a range of audits to monitor quality and identify areas that could be improved. When areas of improvements had been identified by audits management had initiated projects to drive improvements. For example, to decrease the number of medicine errors the management implemented an EMAR system. A bespoke medicine workshop training session was developed by the providers clinical managers and delivered to staff.

Systems and process were in place to ensure staff read and understood policies. When policies were updated the system identified which staff had read them. The provider completed multiple competency assessments to ensure that knowledge was embedded in practice.

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.

The provider actively sought for team members to create dynamic relationships with health and social care professionals to empower people to exceed their health goals, maximise their wellbeing and improve quality of life. For example, management discussed with people and supported them to change healthcare providers to ensure continuity of care.

We received positive feedback from professionals about how Chestnut Lodge work in partnership with them. A healthcare professional told us Chestnut Lodge was a, “Very good care home, one of the top ones I have seen.” They also told us the provider identified through their processes that a person was at future risk of a health condition. The healthcare professional then prescribed medicine for the person. Another professional commented “the provider delivers a patient centred service and will ask for support as required”.

The provider had a strong focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They always 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 had a dehydration risk assessment in place and was working in collaboration with a healthcare professional, researching dehydration risk assessment tools with the aim of finding a more effective tool or creating a new one for the provider. Management encouraged a culture of continuous improvement by providing robust oversight of the overall governance of the home. Management met regularly with another local care home to share best practice, celebrate achievements and identify areas of development. To increase amount of feedback from professionals, management told us as well as sending out an email they gave out cards with a link to a Microsoft form. The provider was working with a healthcare professional to research and possibly develop a new dehydration risk assessment. The provider had an action plan in place. They told us they were considering acoustic monitoring for falls to reduce disrupting people in the night who are at risk of falls, by completing welfare checks.