Greensand 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.

This is the first rating 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 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 service had a clear set of values that staff understood and applied in their daily work. Staff frequently described a culture focused on dignity, respect and treating people the way you would to be treated which showed the values were embedded in practice. Comments from staff included, “(Manager) is positive for stability and she is visible” and “I love the home and have been here from the beginning. We have good work colleagues here.”

Leaders communicated openly with staff and relatives, and people told us they felt able to raise concerns and be listened to. The manager told us, “We've got the core values which is caring, teamwork, responsibility. Every time when we've got a staff meeting, we try to implement that. We are all one big family. We try to make sure staff feel happy and appreciated. When we've got a staff meeting, sometimes we try to either order pizza or doughnuts. Those kinds of things shows that we are a team and to demonstrate those values to all the staff for them to embrace.”

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.

The management team were visible in the service and provided consistent support, with multiple staff describing them as approachable, helpful and committed to high standards. Relatives also described the management team as responsive and easy to talk to, saying they acted quickly when concerns were raised. Leaders demonstrated an inclusive approach by responding to concerns raised by staff, such as facilitating flexible working when required and offering additional support during difficult periods. Relatives and staff reported confidence in leaders’ knowledge and skills and felt they led by example. Comments included, “The manager is very approachable, and the staff are very good. They are always laughing and joking with mum”, “The management and staff are very friendly and helpful” and “Greensand is well managed and [manager] always has her doors open for us.”

The manager told us, “I'm a champion for the wellbeing. If any resident, any staff member that's going through a crisis, they can come and speak to me anytime. I'll float on each floor, have any discussion, it's confidential. If, depending on what they would like, if they want me to report or refer them to occupational health, so we'll do that.” The manager also said they felt very supported stating, “[Regional manager] was here supporting me through the induction.”

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

Staff told us they felt comfortable speaking up and were confident they would be listened to, saying, “I would feel comfortable doing so” and “I have safeguarding training and would feel comfortable to speak up if needed.” The culture supported staff and people to speak up without fear. The manager told us, “I've introduced an open surgery every month. It's where to build trust because they have had so many different managers and a long time with no manager. Me coming in new, it can be quite difficult for staff to kind of trust and interact. I've created open surgery from 11 to 3 once a month and so they can come to my office and just discuss anything they wish.”

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 said they felt treated fairly and valued by leaders and described supportive responses to requests such as flexible working. Leaders ensured human rights principles were understood, including confidentiality, respect and equitable treatment. People, relatives and staff consistently reported being treated with respect, and there were no concerns raised about discriminatory practice. One member of staff said, “It was Ramadan recently and I would stay back at work to prepare our meals to open our fasts.” The manager told us, “We had lots of staff members that had to fast. They requested to have 1 staff member requested to do night shifts instead, so we accommodated that. We try to listen to staff because some staff, they might want half an hour in the day to pray, and we accommodate the breaks accordingly.”

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.

Auditing processes were in place to monitor the service. Daily observations were used to maintain consistency of care, while monthly and quarterly audits covered key areas such as care plans, medicines management, infection prevention, and health and safety. Findings were recorded and followed up on, ensuring any shortfalls were addressed promptly and effectively. The manager told us, “We always make sure we do an audit. I do night visits; I come in in the middle of the night just to make sure the quality of the care is still happening during the night.”

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 well with healthcare partners, including regular contact with GPs, district nurses and specialist teams. The manager said referrals were responded to promptly, and relatives praised the service for keeping them informed when external professionals were involved. People were supported to maintain community connections, such as themed events and family involvement. An external professional told us, “The home manager and staff were very welcoming considering that my visit was unannounced.”

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.

Leaders encouraged staff to contribute ideas for improvement, and staff said management listened and acted when appropriate, with suggestions also discussed during appraisals. The service used audits, reviews and incident analysis to identify areas for learning. Staff described a learning culture where team discussions were used to reflect on incidents and prevention strategies. The manager told us, “There is always lessons learned from any concern raised. We always take that and we do a deep brief with the staff.” They said, “I will type it in a supervision and discuss with the staff so they can understand and have that kind of evidence and documented that they've read, and they understood and is a lesson learned.” They also told us they were involved in an initiative with the ambulance service to try and reduce people being admitted to hospital. This involved the ambulance service coming to the service and providing training around falls reduction.