Bere Grove 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. This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. 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.

Leaders and all the staff we spoke with, demonstrated a commitment to providing person centred, high-quality care. They placed people using the service at the heart of everything they did. An initiative called 'Resident of the day' was in place with the aim to improve the overall experience for people who lived in the home. It meant people’s needs and wishes were reviewed in a holistic way and ensured continuous improvement. People and relatives were complimentary about Bere Grove. They enjoyed forming relationships with staff and other people in the home. For example, 1 person said, “The staff and residents are great, and I love my gang of friends.”

Staff told us they enjoyed their work and were pleased to be able to make a positive difference to people’s lives. One staff member told us, “Everyone’s objective here is to make it a happy home for both residents and staff and everyone who works here strives for that. I’ve never come across so many staff who genuinely care so much.”

Leaders had not always had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. New leaders led the service with integrity, openness and honesty.

There had been frequent changes with the registered manager, and a new deputy manager had just been appointed at the time of our inspection. Staff, relatives and people told us this had been unsettling and had caused instability in the home. Although people and staff were overall positive about the new registered manager, some were still getting used to the changes and were unsure about their approach. The registered manager told us any changes they were making were for the benefit of the whole home. The home was well supported by members of staff from the organisation. These included, quality and clinical leads, trainers and the regional director. This had helped to minimise the impact of management changes in the service and ensure a good level of oversight.

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

The service demonstrated an open and transparent culture, and encouraged staff to speak up, helping to ensure people received safe and high‑quality care. A ‘Speak Up’ champion was in place. This meant staff had a designated person to raise concerns with and were supported to speak up safely. All staff told us they were confident to speak up and would talk to the speak up champion or leaders.

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.

Effective policies and procedures were in place to uphold equality and diversity, and the provider demonstrated awareness of their duty to respect protected characteristics and prevent discrimination. Staff had completed training and spoke positively about their experience of working at the home. They told us they had not experienced any harassment or bullying.

Records showed staff were invited to take part in surveys to share their views and suggestions which helped improve the service for everybody.

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 provider had a governance system to monitor and evaluate the safety and quality of the care provided. Audits were in place and used to identify where areas of service provision needed to be improved. We found these had been mostly successful. Where we identified areas for improvement, these had either already been recognised with planned actions or were promptly addressed. Feedback from people and relatives was positive, with no impact from the identified shortfalls. Notifications had been submitted to CQC as 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 worked in partnership with health and social care professionals to achieve good outcomes for people. The provider had worked proactively to build strong, meaningful relationships within the local community. This included established partnerships with the police, encouraging regular visits from children, and close links with local church groups to support spiritual connection and reduce isolation.

A professional told us “[Bere Grove] has been doing an excellent job in building community connections, and the home is fast becoming a valued local asset”.

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.

Staff spoke of how the service had been continuously improving since it opened and were proud of the home. Leaders and staff were enthusiastic and committed to further improving the service for the benefits of people using it. Where we raised areas for improvement during this inspection leaders were open to our suggestions and took prompt action.

Leaders shared some success stories to note how they supported people to improve their health and wellbeing that positively affected their lives.