Aptine Ltd

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 assessment for this service since its registration. 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 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 were complimentary about the management and the culture of the service. One staff member said, “It has been pleasant [working for the provider]. I would say I have been at rest, not worried about anything.” They also explained how staff could reach out for support when needed and that they felt listened to. The registered manager demonstrated a commitment to providing compassionate and personalised care, as evident in their approach to discussing individuals and the actions the service has taken to deliver individualised support and improve the service.

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. People and their relatives knew senior staff and the registered manager. Relatives said, “I would say they listen. I think the management team have been excellent”, and “[The registered manager] is exceptionally friendly and engaging and pops in from time to time.” Staff told us they felt the management team were approachable, competent and visible in the service.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Staff told us they had a range of avenues to raise any concerns and were encouraged to speak openly if they had any concerns. The provider had systems in place to enable staff to speak up, for example, via contact with a line manager, supervision or staff communication channels and surveys.

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards creating an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for their employees. Staff told us they felt respected and valued as individuals. The provider ensured staff were supported around their protected characteristics and their culture and religion were respected. The provider was committed to creating an inclusive working environment, provided various training opportunities to staff and organised a range of different team events to support and build the team.

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. The registered manager implemented a robust governance framework and reached out for external support to ensure appropriate quality and safety checks. There was a schedule of different audits and checks in place and feedback from external agencies was actively sought and acted upon. However, some actions identified in external audits earlier in 2025 were still outstanding for completion at the time of the assessment. For example, improvement needs around specific health related risk assessments were raised in those audits but not yet fully addressed at the time of the assessment. Discrepancies in medicines administration records were not spotted during medicines audits. Other findings of the audits and checks were addressed fully and evidence we reviewed showed extensive improvements had been made to the service based on those governance checks. For example, the range of systems, processes and records were changed to provide better care for people and staff received additional training and support to do so. The registered manager addressed the outstanding actions immediately after our feedback and provided evidence of improvements made.

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. A social care professional fed back, “[The registered manager] is always very good with communication. [The registered manager] continues to work effectively within the area, and at all times keep us updated.” The registered manager maintained open communication with local health and social care partners and worked on linking with other services. They also reached out to educational and social care support organisations in the local area to be able to use their expertise and support to improve the service.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. The management team worked towards achieving actions in the service improvement plan, and we saw that a number of actions had been successfully implemented and embedded. For example, regarding the use of electronic recording systems, quality of care planning, or approaches to learning from incidents and accidents. The management team met regularly to discuss and review service improvement actions. The registered manager wrote about what this involved, “We will formally evaluate completed actions, update progress, and identify new priorities based on feedback, audits, and service performance data. The plan will continue to evolve as we identify new opportunities for improvement, enabling us to make a positive impact in our community. It is a living document, integral to our ongoing development and improvement.”