Chegworth 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 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.

Staff were supported by managers to deliver consistently safe, person-centred, and inclusive care and support to people in line with the provider’s vision and values for the service. Systems and processes had been designed in line with this vision and focused on people and meeting their individual needs.

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 service continued to have a stable and experienced management team in place, which consisted of a long-standing registered manager and senior nursing team who had been in day-to-day charge of Chegworth Nursing Home for many years. They understood the context in which the service delivered care and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and the provider. They undertook continuous learning and development to maintain their skills and knowledge.

People were positive about the ongoing leadership approach of the managers who they consistently described as approachable, supportive and effective at running the care home. A relative told us, “I have a very good relationship with the managers who are always more than happy to give me time to discuss my [family members] care needs. She [registered manager] is a good listener and always takes on board what I have to say.” An external care professional added, “The manager [registered] has been in position for many years and has a vast range of knowledge and experience. I don’t know another manager that puts as much time, effort and care into a nursing home. I have complete confidence in their approach to managing the service.”

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

People living in the care home and their relatives were comfortable raising any concerns they might have with the managers and felt their views were taken seriously and acted upon. People knew how to report their concerns and were confident they would be taken seriously and dealt with appropriately by the provider. Staff were encouraged and supported to speak up if they had any concerns. They were supported to have their say and make suggestions for improvements through regular induvial supervision and group meetings with the managers and fellow co-workers.

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 were valued and supported by the management team who treated them equally and fairly. The registered manager understood the importance of having a fair and inclusive workplace environment for staff to work in. For example, staff had opportunities for career progression and had their diverse cultural and religious needs respected. Staff were also supported through relevant training and supervision to inform their knowledge and understanding of equality, inclusivity and fairness in the workplace.

The service did not always have good oversight and scrutiny and did not always operate their governance systems effectively. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

The provider’s established quality and safety monitoring systems were not always operated effectively. This was because they had failed to pick up and/or take appropriate action to address several new issues we identified at this assessment. This included issues we found in relation to staff not always being suitably trained, and places where (COSHH) chemicals and other substances hazardous to health were kept were not always securely locked when they were not in use. The provider informed us post inspection that they had implemented functioning Key coded locks on all places where COSHH was stored.

Apart from this, the provider did operate a centralised electronic system to record and review key data and were able to identify any themes and trends developing. The managers ensured appropriate action was taken to learn from any events or incidents that occurred and actions plan to continuously improve were developed and implemented.

The registered manager understood and demonstrated compliance with regulatory requirements. They also understood their responsibility to provide honest information, suitable support and to apply duty of candour where appropriate.

The service's previous CQC inspection report was displayed in the home and easy to access on the provider's website. The display of the ratings is a legal requirement, to inform people, those seeking information about the service and visitors of our judgments.

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.

Managers and staff worked closely with relevant external health and social care professionals and bodies and regularly shared information and learning with these partners. They followed guidance and recommendations they received from these community professionals to support staff learning and improve the safety and quality of the service they provided. An external care professional told us, “The manager [registered] is a fantastic advocate for our clients and the staff at the home work really closely with us to meet their needs.” Another external care professional added, “Staff are proactive in seeking support from other health and social are professionals and seem transparent and open in their communication with them.”

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 service had a proactive culture of continuous learning and improvement. Audits and checks the provider conducted were routinely analysed to identify performance shortfalls and learn lessons. When lessons needed to be learnt, the provider developed action plans which set out clearly what, how and when they needed to take steps to improve the service they provided people. Staff confirmed information about any lessons learnt and action plans developed as a result were always shared with them during individual and group supervision meetings with the services managers.