The Old Vicarage

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 questiongood. At thisassessmentthe rating has changed torequires improvement.This meant the management and leadership was inconsistent. Leaders and the culture they created did not always support the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.The service was in breach of legal regulation in relation to governance at the service. 

This service scored 62 (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 staff and leadership team had a shared focus on providing a good standard of consistent care to people, whilst also maintaining and developing a positive and homely atmosphere within the service.

There had been a recent change in management at the service, however the previous registered manager was supporting the new manager with their induction and remained working with the provider in a more senior role. They were keen to continue to support the positive changes to the culture within the home. The new manager was clear on the direction and culture they wanted to maintain and further build on within the service.

All staff we spoke with enjoyed working at The Old Vicarage and demonstrated a genuine desire for wanting people to receive good care. One staff member told us they care for people as if they are their own parents.

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.

People, relatives and staff spoke highly of the management team within the service. One relative told us they had met the new manager and was pleased to hear the previous manager remained involved too. When talking about the management of the home, one staff member said “In the middle of my interview, one gentleman [required assistance], [the manager] stopped and made sure he was okay. That’s why I work here”. Another staff member told us the new manager is approachable and supportive.

Managers at the service demonstrated suitable knowledge and experience in order to undertake their roles and were supported by the providers quality and regional management teams.

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

People and their relatives felt that the management team were approachable and felt confident that concerns would be dealt with professionally. Opportunities to give feedback and make suggestions for improvement were ongoing at the service.

We spoke with staff who also felt able to raise concerns if they needed to. We saw evidence of staff raising issues within supervisions, and appropriate action being taken in response. Staff were also familiar with how to raise concerns external to the service if required. Information was readily available throughout the service for people, relatives and staff to raise concerns to the local authority or the Care Quality Commission in relation to the care they received.

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 valued their diverse workforce and had policies in place to support and celebrate staffs’ individuality. The management team shared examples with us of how they had promoted equality within the team.

Staff were supported to progress and were able to access opportunities to develop professionally. We spoke with staff who wanted to gain experience and qualifications to enhance their professional careers, and felt The Old Vicarage supported them with this.

The individual needs of staff, including health related adjustments, were discussed and actioned appropriately.

The provider did not have clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They did not act on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, or share this securely with others when appropriate.

Whilst systems were in place to monitor the daily care people received, these were not being utilised fully. This resulted in peoples care not always meeting their needs. For example, we asked the management team about the arrangements for monitoring whether people are being repositioned in line with their individual needs. The management team explained that senior care staff monitor this daily. However, we found excessive gaps in recordings which had not been identified through this process, nor by the management team, and therefore had not been actioned.

The management team were transparent with us around this shortfall and took immediate steps to improve. As a result of this, they had further identified that where people were refusing a care intervention, their system did not support this to be accurately recorded. This meant that where people were refusing care regularly, action could not be taken in a timely way to investigate the reasons for the refusals.

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 service had built strong working relationships with other services and spoke highly of the outcomes this had for people. The local GP visited the service regularly, and a staff member was allocated to them to ensure they were able to ask questions and facilitate their visits. Relatives were satisfied with the way the service worked alongside external professionals to achieve good outcomes for people.

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.

There was a strong emphasis on learning and improvement at the service. Training was delivered through a blended offering of both in person and online courses. Furthermore, staff had access to a designated trainer should they require additional support. When talking about the training they received, one staff member told us they are able to reach out directly to the designated trainer if they need to ask anything.

We spoke with a newly appointed staff member who described the variety of training they had undertaken within their induction period.

Bespoke training in fire awareness had been created and delivered to all staff to improve confidence in this area.

Levels of compliance with mandatory and additional training were monitored by the manager, and policies in place to encourage training compliance.