Maurice House

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 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 registered manager had a shared vision, strategy and culture. They told us, “Our values are taught on induction and our interviews are value-led. Anyone not meeting them is quickly pulled in. People don’t want to see miserable staff, so we will have a quiet word with staff if we notice them not displaying the values of the service. I expect high standards from my staff.” They went on to say, “Our values are displayed in the lobby area and the day I wake up and the first thing I think about is not the residents, then that is when I will leave.” A staff member told us, “Teamwork is great. I am proud to work for the Royal British Legion because everyone cares about you and so we care for each other, which keeps staff working here longer.”

People told us how happy they were living at the service. They said, “It’s an amazing place”, “It’s a very warm place and staff are genuine” A relative said, “I wouldn’t want my dad to be anywhere else.”

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.

Through the accreditations and shared work that staff carried out the service was led by competent senior staff who had people’s interest at their heart. Senior staff were consistently looking at new ways to encourage people’s involvement in the local community and they considered people’s individual needs to help ensure that their personal experience of living at Maurice House was the best it could be.

People said the service was well-run. They said, “It’s very well run”, “[Registered manager] is very polite and she joins in on things”, “We are very well informed (by staff)” and, “There is a good dialogue between the staff and us.”

Staff were happy working at the service. They told us, “It’s the best team ever. We have a really good mixture of care staff as well as nurses. Some nurses have a special interest, for example, diabetes or mental health.” The registered manager was aware that some staff were feeling concerned about the restructuring that was taking place and as such they invited staff to come and speak with them to discuss any concerns. In addition, they were keeping staff fully updated throughout this period of change.

The registered manager fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Suggestion boxes were available in the service and there was an internal complaints procedure as well as an open-door policy for people to speak with senior staff at any time.

Monthly departmental staff meetings were held and daily catch ups, giving staff the opportunity to contribute to the running of the service, raise concerns or discuss different aspects of the service and a staff social media group had been established where staff could post messages.

Staff said management were approachable. One said, “The nurses are very supportive and I feel able to speak up” and another told us, “I can speak with management.”

The service had a whistleblowing policy and a staff member said, “I would definitely whistle blow, it’s there to protect everyone.”

The registered manager valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for staff who worked for them. A relative told us, “I purposely chose Maurice House due to the diverse age range of staff which I believe offers empathy and understanding with residents.”

Staff undertook equality and diversity training and where possible staff were recruited to match people’s language, cultural or gender preferences.

Staff champions were established, such as one staff member who was the consultation representative for the workforce and other staff who were 1st aid leads or mental health leads.

The registered manager and senior staff had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver high-quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They always acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

A whole suite of audits was carried out in the service and the registered manager explained this was currently being review because there were, “so many.” They told us, “We have a quality team who are introducing new audits and every home is getting a quality and performance manager to oversee the home, rather than the deputy and care leads having to do this.”

The registered manager held an over arching action plan for the service. This enabled them to track progress against changes and improvements as well as progress against taken action identified in audits, etc.

The registered manager and staff understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people.

The registered manager worked collectively with relatives to introduce new activities to the service, such as a pottery class and a 4-week woodwork programme. In addition, they were investigating establishing a wheelchair service in Maurice house for residents and the local community in the home as well as running Department of Work and Pensions clinics, particularly aimed at veterans.

There were connections with churches in the area of all denominations and strong links with the local care homes team who had a range of health professionals available for advice and support.

The registered manager focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. For example, the registered manager said they were looking at how to introduce archery to their activities schedule and working with the Kent art project and Broadstairs Town Shed to establish new ideas and opportunities for people to learn new skills, such as carpentry. In addition, they were reviewing funded nursing care within the service so staff would get experience across all disciplines and nursing staff would be able to focus on complex medicines and end of life care. This would help ensure everyone living at Maurice House was in receipt of a nurse-led service.

Staff told us they were encouraged to make simple changes to improve a person’s experience of living at Maurice House. For example, one person liked a particular song and staff would put it on, sing it with them and dance with them whilst they got the person washed and dressed as it had a calming effect.