Braemar Lodge Residential Care 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 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 75 (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 registered manager told us, “We incorporate diverse staff from multicultural backgrounds, ensuring adherence to the Equality Act 2010. We have clients from various backgrounds and faiths, and we monitor this and ensure we cater to diverse needs. As a manager from a diverse background, my passion lies with equality.”

Staff had received equality and diversity training and were supported with cultural and physical needs. Staff supported people using the service with their diverse needs and were inclusive of cultural preferences such as providing dietary requirements they preferred or supporting with faith requirements.

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 provider worked closely with the registered manager and deputy manager to support and develop their staff team. Staff told us senior management were always available to be contacted and were very supportive to the staffing team. One member of staff said, “I feel confident to raise any concerns, the management are very supportive, and we have a really good team working together.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. The provider and registered manager had fostered an open culture at the service where people, relatives and staff had opportunities to raise concerns, make complaints or generally give feedback on their experiences. There were policies in place for staff to ‘whistle blow’ and staff had regular meetings and supervisions where they could share ideas or raise concerns. Staff engaged with people and their relatives regularly to review their care and get their feedback on the service. Relatives we spoke with were confident to raise any concerns directly with the registered manager and staff.

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 registered manager and provider were proud of their diverse workforce and how they had developed a positive working culture for everyone at the service. The registered manager invited and promoted diversity at the point of recruitment. Staff members received equality and diversity training and ensured adherence to the Equality Act 2010.

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. The registered manager and provided had developed governance systems at the service that gave them good oversight of all aspects of the service. There was a focus on driving continual improvements to provide positive outcomes for people. Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities and how their behaviours and performance impacted on the running of the service. Data and notifications were consistently submitted to external organisations as required.

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 registered manager and provider had developed close links in the community to work with other healthcare professionals to provide seamless care to people. This included working with their local GP practice, district nurses and palliative care team. The registered manager had also made provision for community dental and chiropody care for people. The registered manager worked closely with partner agencies such as the local authority and social workers to identify the appropriate support people needed.

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. Staff were supported with on-going learning and development this included face to face learning from the NHS education team. One member of staff said, “I have completed diabetes and catheter training face to face, which was really good training.” The provider and registered manager held workshops to upskill staff and deliver training. To support learning with people and relatives the registered manager was liaising with other health professionals such as the palliative care team to participate in delivering training.The provider and registered manager did an analysis of falls, accidents and complaints to look for themes and shared learning to promote positive outcomes for people.