St Patrick's 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 79 (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.

The provider had a set of values which was shared with staff during induction and in further training updates. The provider values were available to people, relatives and professionals on their website. Staff demonstrated they were aware of the values and told us they were well supported by management at the service.

Staff enjoyed their work and told us there was good teamwork at the service with all staff wanting the best for people. One member of staff told us, “I love everything, working as a team, making the residents happy. If you love what you do, then you do your best. Seeing that smile from people you support is good.”

The culture at the service was open with people and staff feeling able to share any concerns. The registered manager and team leaders were visible within the service, and we were told they were all approachable.

The provider had exceptionally 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 always did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

The registered manager at the service was very experienced and had achieved a level 7 management qualification. They were supported by experienced team leaders who knew and understood people’s needs. Feedback about the management of the service from people, relatives, staff and some professionals was positive. Comments included, “I feel that the service is well-led by dedicated and caring managers” and “The manager has an open door, you can go any time. I have a good relationship with them, not just me, all of us. There is good teamwork.” One person said, “[registered manager is nice. I can talk to [them].”

The registered manager was very proud of the work staff had done to improve people’s lives and improve their health and wellbeing. The registered manager shared some success stories with us of how people had developed their communication skills. One person had been assessed recently and was able to be more involved in this process. Their levels of understanding and communication had improved, and they demonstrated knowledge of what some of their medicines were for. This was a big achievement for the person compared to previous assessments.

People had been involved in writing their own care plan guidance for staff and developing their own garden spaces. Staff told us this work was possible as the service was well managed, with everyone including the organisation wanting the best for people.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. The provider had speak up guardians who were part of the head office central support team. Their details were available for staff to use if they felt they wanted to speak with staff external to the service. Staff had information on their electronic application on how to raise concerns. Staff were aware of processes and told us they could raise concerns anonymously if needed.

Staff had access to the whistleblowing policy and processes. Information on this process was available on notice boards at the service.

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 received training on equality, diversity and inclusion and had access to a range of resources to support staff culture and wellbeing. Staff said they had not seen or heard about any discrimination, and they felt their workplace was inclusive, fair and welcoming. For example, staff from different cultures were supported to take time away from work when needing to pray.

The registered manager told us they identified staff’s individual needs when they started work so they could make sure specific cultural or wellbeing requirements were respected. The registered manager said, “I link in with new staff, I check they feel supported. I generally look after their wellbeing.”

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 service had various systems for governance. Different members of staff were completing a variety of audits. Some checks were completed weekly and some were monthly. The registered manager did their checks monthly in areas such as medicines, finance and care plans. Staff completed weekly audits for areas such as fire safety and infection prevention and control. All results from checks being completed were recorded on the provider’s electronic system. This meant central office staff could also monitor compliance in all areas.

Notifications had been submitted to CQC appropriately and in a timely way. The registered manager understood their responsibilities of working in a regulated environment. A regional operations manager also visited the service and completed their own checks on compliance. This helped monitor quality and safety, identifying any areas for development so action could be taken.

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.

The service worked in partnership with various professionals from health and social care. Feedback we received from professionals about staff, management and the support provided was positive. Comments included, “The approach from the team to visitors and professionals is light and relaxed, courteous, respectful and informative” and “I find the staff are very knowledgeable about the residents and very responsive to their needs. They highlight medical issues promptly and do their best to ensure the residents are safe.”

Staff were aware of the sources of support they could use to help meet people’s health needs. For example, staff had referred people to services such as speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. We found guidance from these professionals had been added to people’s care and support plans.

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 told us they had focused on improving the culture at the service and making sure the staff worked to improve outcomes for people. Daily life for people had improved with staff now keen to help people access their local community and enjoy a good quality of life. One professional told us, “The staff are a diverse range of age and cultural backgrounds which is good to observe, they appear to be proactive with the residents and willing to support them, to enable them to do what they like to do.”

The provider had ways to share learning across their organisation. Management and directors attended regular governance and risk meetings. Good practice stories were shared along with development ideas and areas of risk. The registered manager told us they had identified lighting pull cords in bathrooms were a potential hazard for infection prevention and control. They had searched for cords that were wipeable reducing the risk of cross contamination. This idea had been shared across the organisation with all services swopping to this type of pull cord.