Hillbeck Residential 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 inadequate. 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 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.

There was a clear vision at the service to support people in having a positive quality of life safe from harm. There was a happy and caring atmosphere at the service where staff were responsive to people’s needs and cared deeply about the people they supported. People and relatives felt at home at Hillbeck and treated with kindness and respect. One relative told us, “All the staff know our names too, I don’t feel like a visitor. They all know what she does here, they’re like family. I wouldn’t leave my relative here if I wasn’t happy, I can only say really good things, I’d give it a 10 out of 10.”

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.

Feedback was positive about the impact of the new management team. They were described as open, caring and as acting with integrity to ensure the ongoing welfare of people. One staff member told us, “The manager and deputy are really approachable, they will always speak to people. I think we are doing really well, a lot of us were oblivious to some of the stuff that was going on before. I think the since the new management team have come in, they are on the ball, they know the staff really well and they are on our level. If you put your head in the office at any time they will come straight out and help, such as take people to the toilet if they need support.” A relative added, “I see managers on weekdays, if there’s anything they’re always approachable.”

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

Staff felt empowered to speak up, were knowledgeable about how to do so and were confident any concerns would be acted upon. There were several different opportunities for staff to raise any issues including through meetings and supervisions, internally within the provider or to other external organisations as set out in their whistleblowing policy. One staff member told us, “Management are fantastic and have changed the home. Their door is always open, if you raise concerns they are dealt with. They provide a lot more support to staff and service users. They are always available.” Another staff member added, “I definitely feel comfortable in sharing any concerns. Although I have had nothing major recently.”

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.

All staff had been trained in equality and diversity and fed back that any adjustments needed to be made to support their culture or personal circumstances at were made. This included swapping shifts to enable staff to attend health appointments or attend to family matters. If staff members had faith, they were supported to take breaks from work as required to engage in prayer. There had also recently been activities which focused on international cuisine, which was an opportunity for staff to share their culture and heritage with people in a way that was accessible and inclusive.

The provider did not always have good systems of accountability and good governance.to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support.

Governance processes although improved required further development and embedding. These had not always been effective, as they had not identified some areas of restrictive practices, risks and lack of person-centred care for people in some areas. This meant people did not always experience good outcomes as systems within the home were not yet robust. However, once these shortfalls were identified and raised to the management of the service they were acted on promptly.

There were regular audits and checks on areas including health and safety, care planning, staffing, medication and people’s experiences. These were generally effective at identifying areas for improvement, and the safety and quality of care at Hillbeck had improved since the previous inspection. Managers would regularly visit the service at night which had not happened previously, to ensure they were regularly observing care at all times of day.

There were clear processes and policies in place governing the delivery of care, and systems to ensure everyone’s responsibilities were clear. There were business continuity arrangements in place to ensure the safety of people at all times, for example during extreme weather such as heatwave where we saw appropriate measures were in place to ensure people’s hydration and welfare.

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.

There were strong partnerships in place that supported people to receive ongoing support to live healthy and positive lives. Referrals were made to external professionals and services and there were regular weekly meetings with the local GP practice to discuss people who needed additional support. Management had recently arranged a local community drop in session alongside other local stakeholders which was focused on dementia care and were looking to hold these regularly going forward. The registered manager told us they would like to use this as an opportunity to connect people in the local community, who needed support with dementia to access local support services. This included building connections with people and their wider community.

The service worked in partnership with people and their relatives to involve them in their care including through regular care reviews to ensure these were up to date and reflected each person. Relatives spoke of the positive relationship they had with the home with one relative saying, “What drew me is it’s not the most beautiful place on earth, where it matters, it’s what staff do with residents. There have been no significant changes to how they are and how staff interact, they’re always being lovely.” Another relative told us, “I wouldn’t change this for anything, my relative feels very loved here. Always, every visit she says they are lovely, they look after me and they love me.”

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.

There was a commitment to ongoing learning and improvement within the service. Managers attended regular meetings with fellow managers from other services operated by the provider to share learning, as well as with other managers through the local ‘Skills for Care Registered Manager Group.’ There were regular internal meetings with staff to sharing learning from any incidents, as well as creative focuses on particular areas to support ongoing quality improvement. This included a “policy of the month” where staff were supported to focus on particular areas of care, such a recent focus around modified diets for people who were at risk of choking.