Garden 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 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.
Staff and people felt there was a positive culture at the service. Communication between people, staff and management was open and effective. The provider worked with local community and health and social care partners to support people to live their lives fully.
The provider had recently introduced new values using plain English, which emphasised the importance of people feeling at home.
 

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 had a good oversight of the service. The registered manager was well supported by regional management after recently starting the role. The management team were passionate about the service they offered to people and described the service, staff and people as ‘a family’.
 

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.
Staff said it was easy to speak up and raise any concerns with the management team. They felt listened to and supported.
 

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.
Management worked to ensure equality and diversity for staff by making policies, support systems and opportunities accessible to everyone. Staff raised no concerns about discrimination in the workplace.
 

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.
Effective audits were in place to monitor various aspects of the service including medicines, infection control and building safety. Regular reviews of records, accidents, incidents and feedback from people and staff were in place to ensure the service was providing good quality care. The registered manager shared lessons learnt with staff and with other services belonging to the provider. A new electronic care planning system had been introduced, which supported staff and managers to see a real-time view of key information such as hydration levels.

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.
Staff and the management team collaborated well with partners. A healthcare professional said, “I have not seen any issues with how staff work together. [The registered manager] is always happy to speak to me when I call and very responsive in a timely manner when I email the care home.”
 

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 registered manager and provider were planning a number of improvements to the service, based on feedback from people, relatives and staff. For example, they were planning on introducing memory boxes at people’s bedroom doors to make it easier for them to identify their own bedroom.