Emsworth House Care Home with Nursing

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 described an open culture where they felt valued, confident to make suggestions or to flag when something had gone wrong. One staff member said, “There is a good culture here: no discrimination, good teamwork. It is a good service and managed well everyone has their own jobs to do and duties and we all help each other if needed.” Some staff noted how the culture had improved. One said, “It’s happier now and people have more respect for each other, a couple of years ago it wasn’t like that at all.”

During our visit, we raised concerns about codes to some secure areas of the home being displayed. The management team demonstrated their values in their response to this. They took action to ensure safety but also sought to understand the reason staff had done this. They took time to engage openly with staff and to find a solution as a team.

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.

Staff spoke highly of the management team and expressed hopes for a period of stability at the service. The registered manager had been in post since March 2025. Staff described the registered manager as knowledgeable, said she treated staff well, was approachable and ‘gets things sorted.’ They told us the management team were visible and supportive. One staff member said, “They are visible where they need to be. [Registered manager] is here all day every day and if the door isn’t open, you can knock on it.” Another told us, “I feel quite comfortable to bring concerns to management now that the whole management team has changed over the last couple of years.”

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

People and visitors told us they felt able to raise any issues to staff. There were regular resident and relative meetings, along with individual reviews under the ‘resident of the day’ system. On leaving the service, visitors were asked for feedback and given the opportunity to rate and make comments about their experiences at the home. These were reviewed and we saw action had been taken in response to comments made.

Staff felt confident to raise concerns. One staff member said, “Management listens to concerns and is quick to act.” Another said, [Registered manager] is always willing to listen and would not ignore it if I had any concerns/issues and wanted to speak up. She always says she is available.” A third shared, “I was very much listened to and taken seriously when raising concerns previously.”

Staff were aware of formal channels to raise concerns. One staff member told us, “I think Hampshire [service provider] are quite open about that [whistleblowing], they don’t try and hide bad practice.”

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 told us they felt valued. Some shared examples of when they had received particular thanks and acknowledgement. One staff member told us, “[Registered manager] is very appreciative of what we have done.” Another said, “There is good teamwork. I feel reward from what I do. I am very happy to work here.”

Staff told us there was consideration for their individual needs. One staff member said, “Management is very flexible with my holidays that I celebrate”. The maintenance team told us they were adapting a space to provide a dedicated prayer room.

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.

Regular audits and checks were carried out to monitor the service. As part of the service improvement plan, nurses had taken lead roles, for example in oral care, falls or tissue viability. Nurses were being supported to deepen their knowledge and to lead audits of those areas. Each month governance and clinical governance was reviewed, with different members of the team involved. Audits had identified areas of improvement. Actions arising were clearly documented and reviewed through to completion.

The provider had oversight of the service. This included access to information about the service via a live system, visits from representatives of the provider and audits completed by external parties.

Staff and resident surveys were carried out and the results of these shared in the form of ‘you said, we did’ reports.

Staff received regular training and updates. All the staff we spoke with said they felt trained to carry out their roles.

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.

Representatives of the provider participated in a local provider forum and care association. These links helped to highlight and find solutions to challenges faced within the sector.

The registered manager was working to develop community links and to enable community groups to use spaces within the service for their meetings. A successful car boot sale had been held in the grounds and there were plans for church groups to meet within the home. Funding from a charity group was being used to further develop the dementia sensory garden at the home and there were plans to host support and information events for carers of people living with dementia.

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.

Incidents and accidents were reported, investigated, and analysed for trends, both at service and provider level. Lessons learned were shared with staff and across the provider’s services.

There were regular meetings to share learning, knowledge and best practice. These included monthly meetings of senior managers and quarterly registered manager meetings. The provider had a debriefing service tasked with looking at learning and readiness to respond and mitigate risk in similar scenarios.

The service was developing how they used their electronic system and embedding new elements within the service. For example, work was underway to ensure people’s baseline observations and presentation were clearly recorded using the RESTORE2 tool. In the future, it is hoped this information will feed automatically into the details shared with partner organisations if a person moves between services.