Apex Prime Care - Nightingale 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.

This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated 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 service 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 knew the aims and values of the organisation. The registered manager told us how they shared the services values to empower people and to help people live for longer in their own homes.

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 felt supported by the registered manager and senior team. It was evident throughout the inspection that the registered manager and deputy manager were highly thought of, we received constant positive praise about them. One person told us, “I have got my life back since coming here and I can’t thank them enough. The manager’s door is always open, and they will come and chat to me if they see me about.”

The service fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. The provider completed surveys of people and their relatives’ views this was then used to make improvements to the service. The provider had appropriate polices in place as well as a policy on Duty of Candour to ensure staff acted in an open and transparent way in relation to care and treatment if people came to harm. Staff we spoke with were happy to speak up for people and were always listening to people’s needs and act on any concerns or needs that people may have.

The service valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them. Policies and procedures to promote diversity and equality were in place. A relative told us, “The whole team work well together. It was the best move getting my relative in there.”

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. Leaders and managers supported staff, and all staff we spoke with were clear on their individual roles and responsibilities. Internal governance procedures were in place with a range of quality monitoring systems including care plans and medicine audits. These had helped identify where actions were required and helped drive improvement. A healthcare professional told us, “I consider the service to be safe, effective, responsive, caring, and very well led. I would not hesitate to recommend it to my friends or send my loved ones there.”

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.

Records showed the leadership team and staff worked effectively with health and social care professionals to meet people’s needs. Staff had undertaken reviews with relevant healthcare professionals as people’s needs had increased and made referrals to occupational therapists, community nurses and GPs when needed.

We spoke with the housing manager for the building who was positive about the relationship with management of the service and described them as “amazing” and said they worked very well together to achieve positive outcomes for the people living there.

The management worked well with people’s relatives, and we received very high praise from relatives. One relative told us, “We all work as a team, family included, but there is very clear leadership.” Relatives also told us how they were now able to take holidays as they felt confident in the service looking after their loved ones.

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 and effective practice. The registered manager was very positive about the service and wanted to make improvements for people using the service. One relative told us, “Their attention to detail affects the whole family positively too. We can’t thank them enough.” Another relative said, “I have said it before, but I really can’t praise them enough. There is nothing I can think of that they could do better.”