Highfield 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 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.

There was a warm and friendly atmosphere at the service. Staff told us communication had improved since the last inspection, and they felt better informed by management and connected to each other. One staff told us, “We have a handover each day which helps me understand people’s up to date needs.” Another staff member told us, “I think everything is good, I enjoy working here. We are like a family.”

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 was supported by a deputy manager. Both the registered manager and deputy were experienced nurses and able to provide clinical support as well as oversight and staff supervision. The provider was actively involved at the service and knew staff and people. People and their relatives told us they had spoken to managers when they wanted to do so and were positive about the response.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Staff were positive about the culture at the service. One staff told us, “I feel able to raise any concerns if I am worried.” Another staff said, “I do feel we are listened to, anything I raise to my manager I believe would be investigated.”

Staff knew how to raise concerns internally and who to blow the whistle to externally if concerns were not addressed within 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 told us the felt the provider did value diversity and felt supported with their equality and diversity needs. Staff told if they needed more support, they felt it would be provided. The service continued to celebrate a range of religious and cultural events to reflect both the people that lived there and the staff who supported them.

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.

Oversight of the service had been improved. Information produced by the electronic system was being used more effectively to inform care and treatment.

There was also a system of manual audits in place such as regular audits of medicines. Where actions were identified as needed during auditing these actions were completed.

The CQC rating was displayed at the service, and notifications had been submitted when required.

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.

Staff continued to work alongside other services such as the GP practice, specialist nursing staff and occupational health services to ensure people had access to the healthcare and services they needed. For example, staff worked with the Home Enteral Nutrition (HEN) Team to support people who used a feeding tube for taking medicine or nutrition. One health and social care professional told us, “I feel I have a very proactive working relationship with the staff.”

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.

The provider and registered manager had learnt from the findings at the last inspection and made improvements across the service. They were able aware of changes and developments in the sector such as how technology was becoming more widely used and had begun to explore how technology could support and improve care planning. For example, by assisting with the analysis of incidents and accidents. Staff told us this learning was shared with them.