Forest 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 good. At this assessment the rating has remained 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 82 (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 providers vision and values were discussed at staff meetings and checks were in place to see if delivered care met these and what could be done to further meet them.

Staff were aware of the provider’s vision, explaining, “The values of Barchester are there from day one of training and all staff are passionate about them,” and “the culture of kindness in the team is highly rated, staff work as a team, respect each other, have empathy and compassion, making decisions and achieving good results.”

The positive culture displayed by the whole team contributed to the personalised, kind and caring support people received.

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 registered manager spoke to us with passion and transparency, they knew the home, staff and people well.

Relatives told us, “The manager is a good manager because if there are any problems they are very fast to inform me.”

Staff said, “The management team is approachable. [Named manager] has an open-door policy and if we need any support, they take the time to guide us and also if any further trainings are required, it’s been arranged,” and “The management team is approachable, supportive, and provide clear leadership.”

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

The home had trained “speak up champions”, who staff knew they could go to with any concerns. The provider had a freedom to speak up guardian and a comprehensive whistleblowing policy in place. The provider also had an internal whistleblowing number for staff to discuss concerns in confidence. All staff who fed back to us said they felt listened to.

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.

The providers equality and diversity policy detailed their commitment to “promote a workplace that is inclusive of all people” and described how this was reflected in their recruitment process. Staff told us they felt included, supported and happy to work at this home.

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.

Effective and efficient heads of department were in place who clearly understood their roles and responsibilities to ensure the management of areas outside care, such as maintenance and the kitchen, ran smoothly to ensure the registered manager could focus on supporting the staff team to deliver high quality care.

There was clear auditing in place in all areas of care delivery, which were overseen by the registered manager and got sent to the providers clinical divisional lead to review.

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 registered manager understood their duty to share required information with other organisations, such as the local authority and CQC.

The provider had plans in place to increase their presence in the local community, with open days and inviting local well-known figures to raise awareness.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system.

Feedback was discussed at staff meetings with the registered manager encouraging staff to feedback both positives and negatives saying, “we need to know what is happening in our service in order to address it.” Staff felt comfortable raising ideas, “Any concerns can be raised up to [registered manager] and we as a team will discuss about the risks and what can be implemented to eliminate the risks. [Registered manager] is always accepting of the ideas that the staff bring up and always ensures that we feel heard.”

The provider kept relatives up to date with changes and improvements within the home via a newsletter monthly.

The registered manager described how they would soon be replacing their sensor system to further reduce risk to people and improve care delivery.