White Cliffs Lodge

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 inadequate. 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.

The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to good governance. Improvements around how the provider monitored and improved the quality and safety of the service provided to people were found at this assessment. The provider was no longer in breach of this regulation.

This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service had a shared culture and values that was based on inclusion, equity and maximising the independence of the people they supported. There was a positive organisational culture, where staff felt valued and were given frequent opportunities to share feedback, ideas or concerns. A staff member said, “I attend the monthly staff meetings which are really good, and staff voice is listened to”, as well as giving an example of how a conversation about an individual person at these meetings had led to a review of their support to provide them with more effective care. A range of support mechanisms was implemented since the last inspection to promote and build good culture in the service. For example, managers regularly checked staff knowledge around supporting people with dignity and respecting their privacy and human rights. Equity and human rights profiles were created for each person to support staff in understanding and respecting everybody as having their own unique characteristics, preferences and need.

We found there was strong leadership at the service, and people we spoke to were complimentary about how open and accessible management were. Leaders at all levels were visible and knowledgeable about the needs of the people they supported. One person who lived at the service stated, “The [registered manager] is excellent and will often come to chat to me and to see how I am.” Staff, people and their relatives had regular opportunities to share feedback with leaders through surveys, formal meetings and informal conversations. All those we spoke to explained that there was an open-door policy where management could be accessed at any time. A member of staff told us, “The current management have made a significant difference to improving the culture and visual appearance of the service, and things are working very well at present.” The provider completed regular checks of the quality and safety of the service and included people’s feedback and observations of support being provided in their findings.

There was clear guidance for staff on how to speak up where they had concerns, and all those we spoke to were confident in how to do so. There was a 24/7 whistleblowing hotline in place as well as a designated “Freedom to Speak Up Officer”, with posters advertising these routes widely displayed throughout the building. One member of staff explained, “Management are very approachable and I wouldn’t hesitate in speaking to them if I had a concern. However, there are also people at head office I can speak to if I felt more comfortable in doing so, and I know where to find information showing me how I can whistleblow."

Leaders were committed to supporting workforce inclusion and diversity, and there were regular opportunities for staff to meet with management to share their experiences and any concerns they may have. This included regular staff surveys and individual meetings to review staff wellbeing and to explore where any improvements could be made to ensure staff had a positive experience of working at the service. An employee of the month scheme was in place which celebrated individual achievements where staff had gone above and beyond in supporting the people they worked with. Staff told us they felt valued and listened to. There was a strong commitment to staff development and progression. A staff member told us, “It is a wonderful place and staff, management and people who live here are one big family."

There was a clear structure of roles and responsibilities within the service. The management team reviewed and improved the quality assurance and auditing practices to ensure the service was operating safely and delivering a good quality of care. The managers now completed a range of audits and checks in key areas of the service and there were clear action plans in place to address any improvement needs. The completion of actions plans was closely monitored, and we saw multiple actions were successfully addressed. However, further improvements were needed in relation to implemented care and support documentation audits and checks which did not always identify all gaps. For example, around records of reviews of mental capacity assessments and best interest decisions for some environmental restrictions in the home, inconsistencies in some risk management plans versus people’s changing needs or actions required in relation to more effective monitoring of the expiry dates for some medicines were not identified. The provider and the managers of the service started to address our feedback at the time of the assessment and provided evidence of changes already made and updated records.

The provider worked in collaboration with partner health and social care organisations and the wider community, to enhance the quality of care received by people. For example, staff worked well with other professionals to enable and to support a person to go on holiday and another person started horse riding recently. Staff supported people to access opportunities in their local area, to go out, access their GP or other specialist health services, for example, a local sexual health service to have the information on how to keep themselves safe and healthy.

There was a strong ethos of continual quality improvement at the service. The new management team implemented a range of improvements since the last inspection. For example, all support documentation was reviewed for each individual person, staff received additional training and support, and managers actively monitored people’s support on a day-to-day basis. There were now regular skills and knowledge assessments available for staff in a range of areas such as team leading, safeguarding, whistleblowing and medicines management in addition to online and face to face learning provided. Where any gaps were identified in staff knowledge, leaders worked collaboratively with them to support any further learning and development needs. The home environment was redecorated, and a range of works were completed to improve its safety and to make sure it was homely and personalised. Following any incidents, we saw how staff were able to have debrief sessions to explore any learning and improvements that could be made to ensure the best possible outcomes for people. Ideas for improvements were actively sought and shared by both staff, people who lived at the service and those acting on their behalf.