Ashbrook 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 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 to support 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 registered manager told us, “We promote an ethos that we work in the service users’ home; they don't live in our workplace."

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 who had been in day-to-day charge of Ashbrook House 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 feel the managers are doing a fantastic job at running and maintaining the care home. The managers are very easy to communicate with and they are very good at working together for the benefit and development of my [family member].” Another relative added, “[Name of registered manager] always keeps me up to date with anything that happening my [family member] between myvisits.”

Staff were equally complimentary about the leadership approach of the managers. Feedback included,” I feel supported by the managers”, “The registered and deputy managers make a great team” and “The managers are always accessible in the care home and very approachable and friendly. We all work together as one big team”.

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 were provided with easy to understand and accessible information about how they could report concerns and how these would be dealt with 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, supported by the services managers who treated them equally and fairly. A member of staff told us, “I feel I am treated extremely well and fairly by the managers and my fellow co-workers. It’s an inclusive working environment where we all feel valued and respected.” Managers understood the importance of having a fair and inclusive workplace environment for staff to work in. For example, staff had opportunities for career progression, were offered flexible work options 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 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 provider’s quality and governance team ensured appropriate action was taken to learn from any events or incidents that occurred. In addition, the care homes area quality assurance manager routinely conducted checks and audits at the care home.

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.

We saw the service's previous CQC inspection report was displayed in the care 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 professionals to support staff learning and improve the safety and quality of the service they provided. The registered manager told us, “We have a really good working relationship with all our partners. We work particularly closely with all the local authorities who fund the people who live or stay here, the local positive behavioural support team, GP surgery, and speech and language therapists.” An 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 time specific 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.