Fennell Court

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 as good. At this assessment the rating has remained as 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 71 (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.
Staff understood the service’s aims and worked collaboratively to deliver care that met people’s needs and improved outcomes in line with the shared vision of "fulfilling lives for all".
Staff were clear about their role in ensuring people had a good quality of life and told us they enjoyed their roles and would recommend the service as a place to work and would be happy for a relative to be cared for there.
 

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 received support from the provider’s senior management and had received appropriate training to enable them to effectively fulfil their role. The registered manager was skilled and knowledgeable and was visible within the service. We observed them directly supporting people living at the service, knew people well and was available to support staff when people had become distressed.
People and relatives knew the registered manager and gave consistently positive feedback about their role and support. Feedback included, "The manager is good and I know I can raise anything” and “"Yes its well led."
Some staff told us, “Manager and deputy really lovely," “Really supportive, kind and caring, treated equally” and “Very supportive.” However, some staff told us, “It feels like micro-management,” and “Feel unsupported at times.”
 

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.
There was a policy in place to support staff to speak up if they had any concerns. Staff told us they were aware of how to raise any concerns. Staff told us, “I feel free to raise anything” and “Always confident to speak up when somethings not going right.”
Staff had access to a confidential “say something” email, the registered manager told us that if any investigation was needed this would be undertaken by staff from the provider’s head office.
 

The provider did not always value diversity in their workforce. They did not always work towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them.
Staff had access to an up-to-date equality, diversity and inclusion policy, and were trained in equality, diversity and inclusion to support them, in their roles.
We received mixed views from staff about being treated equally. Some staff told us, “I feel okay and feel treated the same as others, managers tell us to go see them if any issues,” and “I don’t see any difference in how I am treated to other colleagues.” However, some staff told us, “Registered Manager can target some staff and be Intimidated and bullied, feels sometimes [registered manager] judges quite quickly and puts me down, belittles me a lot,” and “Registered Manager appreciates work we do but I get told where I need to improve but there should be a balance and feedback on what I have done well too.”
 

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.
Robust quality assurance processes were in place, designed to give an effective overview of quality of the service and identifying any shortfalls. The management at the service had implemented robust systems of governance and audit. Any actions identified were collated into a single system providing good oversight for the registered manager and the provider’s operational manager.
 

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 and staff worked collaboratively with a range of external partners, including health and social care professionals to ensure people received safe and appropriate care and support.
Staff were able to give examples of how they supported people to access health professionals. The registered manager told us how they are working to secure an alternative provider to support with dispensing people’s medication following errors that had been identified by the service.
 

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 demonstrated an open and transparent approach when discussing the service and were responsive to our feedback during the inspection.
The provider had systems in place to manage incidents and accidents safely and effectively. The registered manager understood their responsibilities and described how they reported incidents to relevant authorities and acted in line with organisational policies and procedures.
Staff received updates when risks changed and lessons learnt were communicated with the staff team and used to make positive changes.