Amberley Hall Care Home

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. all staff we spoke with felt able to share ideas to improve the service. A couple of staff were not assured their ideas would always be listened to, and this was shared with the provider to review. However, the provider carried out employment surveys and actively asked for feedback on the service. They ensured robust policies and procedures were in place for staff to follow. They embedded their company values daily through discussions with the staff in daily stand-up meetings.

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. We found the provider investigated incidents and complaints fully and applied duty of candour and ensured they were open, honest and transparent. Out of hours spot checks were conducted in the service to ensure quality of care provided was consistent and the service had a registered manager in post. The registered manager told us “The provider is very supportive I can reach out to anyone at any time of the day. If there are any concerns and some guidance, then I will always contact [staff member] my regional manager.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. The provider had whistleblowing and complaints policies in place. They actively requested feedback from people and staff to encourage people’s voices being heard. Staff felt able to raise concerns. A staff member told us, “I have started to speak up more now than I ever have, if I now have any concerns I will go straight to my team leader or nurse on duty and if they say they cannot help, I will then go straight to management.” Another staff member told us “We are encouraged to speak up if we have any concerns. I feel comfortable raising concerns with senior staff.”

he 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. We found staff were supported to practice their religion. Risk assessments were conducted on staff where they had known medical conditions to ensure staff were protected and supported while at work. International staff that were registered nurses were being supported by the provider to obtain their nursing registration. Staff that opted out of the working time regulations received regular checks by the registered manager to discuss their well-being. Staff felt staff were treated equally and had not witnessed any discrimination.

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 had implemented a new care planning software in the service, and this was being embedded as they had identified the previous system did not always highlight shortfalls in the care people received. They had reviewed and implemented other processes to increase their oversight, and we found statutory notifications were now being routinely submitted where required. Audits were identifying areas of improvement, and these could be adapted to specifically suit the environment being audited. Checks were conducted on the service regularly and daily walkarounds were completed 7 days a week. They ensured daily department meetings were completed to ensure they had clear oversight of what was happening in the service.

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. There was a good partnership working with the local hospital and GP surgery. They worked well with the rehabilitation team that were based within the service. Referrals were submitted promptly and the provider ensured other health care professionals submitted referrals where required.

A staff member told us “We work with a range of healthcare professionals depending on the resident’s needs. This includes GPs, district nurses, hospitals, SALT, dietitians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, pharmacists, social services and safeguarding teams. We make referrals when required and make sure any advice we receive is documented and communicated to the care team.”

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 provider had recently achieved a gold rating in a dementia care accreditation. When they first joined the scheme, their overall score was low and were given an action plan to work towards, which they achieved. Staff told us how this training had improved their knowledge and this impacted the support they were now able to give to people with dementia.

The provider supported staff to improve their knowledge and skills, and this covered the whole work force. Maintenance team had completed training in fire doors specifically to enable them to identify, resolve and escalate issues. leaders were due to begin training to improve their knowledge of the health and safety of environments and had begun further qualifications. We found the provider had made significant improvements in the service since the last inspection.