Palmerston House 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.

The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to good governance. Improvements were found at this inspection, and the provider was no longer in breach of this regulation.

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.

Staff worked with a shared purpose, supported by policies and values that promoted equality, diversity and person‑centred care. The provider’s statement of purpose emphasised dignity, compassion, empathy and supporting people to retain as much control over their lives as possible. We saw staff demonstrating these values in practice, interacting with people with kindness and empathy. There was a positive culture where staff understood what was expected of them and worked in line with the service’s aims.

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.

Staff told us they felt well supported through regular supervision and appraisal, which they found beneficial for their development. The management team were actively involved in auditing and working alongside staff, which helped maintain oversight of day‑to‑day practice.

A staff member with additional needs described reasonable adjustments put in place for them by the management team. They told us, “They have been really supportive, for example recently with training they have told me to keep bugging them and I can go in and they can help me with training. I really like it there; they are a really good home.”

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

Family members we spoke with told us they know who the registered manager was and they were approachable and sociable. Staff told us they felt they could raise concerns with the registered manager if needed and they would be resolved. The provider had policies for managing whistleblowing concerns.

When we asked a person who uses the service if the staff and management listen to them, they told us, “Of course they do, if not I’d give them what for.”

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 provider had effective policies and training in place to support workforce equality, diversity and inclusion. Staff told us they were treated fairly and supported as individuals, and leaders were sensitive and responsive to staff’s personal circumstances. Staff described a positive team culture where they felt able to speak openly with managers. Colleagues supported one another and reported the team remained strong and cohesive.

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.

There were significant improvements in this area since the last inspection held. The provider had also provided the registered manager with additional resources to support them in their role and improve oversight of the service.

We observed management engaging positively with people and demonstrating detailed knowledge of their histories and current support. Safeguarding concerns were appropriately reported to the local authority.
Whilst concerns are noted in other areas of this report, the registered manager had identified these areas and was actively working to address these areas.

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 positive reports from a variety of professionals who worked with the service social workers, advocates and district nurse teams all reported the ease of communication between the service and management. It was also stated that the registered manager and staff had good in-depth knowledge of people which contributed to effective and timely care delivered.

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 service had recently reviewed their digital care systems and utilised them more effectively, by introducing a system to track health and safety checks, maintenance, certificates etc. They also had a falls system in place that aided in fall detection and prevention. Measures such as this contributed to improvement and innovation at the service.