Whitehaven 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.

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.

The provider said communication was key to ensuring they were meeting people’s needs. The registered manager said they had regular meetings with staff to communicate the organisational expectations, and they were comfortable with sharing information and feedback with staff and others. The registered manager said staff had completed equality and diversity training and were confident equality and diversity was promoted within the staff team.

One staff member said the service had a positive team culture with supportive management.

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 told us they had completed a manager’s induction programme and initially received support three days a week from their manager. They confirmed they were undertaking management training relevant to their role. The registered manager said they were also supported in their role by the provider and a quality consultant.

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

Relatives said the service actively sought their views and maintained regular communication.

We saw surveys were sent to relatives and relative meetings were held regularly enabling families to raise their concerns. Relatives told us, “We fill in a survey once or twice a year. There are family meetings every three months, and I get the minutes. They check we are happy as a collective and we can raise issues.” Another relative told us, “I went to the last family meeting, and it was very interesting. Staff came in to discuss things. They ask how they could improve.”

The registered manager said staff were encouraged to feedback to the provider through regular surveys. The registered manager said they had an open-door policy, and staff confirmed they felt confident to approach the manager to raise concerns.

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. Appropriate policieswere in place to support staff equality and diversity. The registered manager confirmed how reasonable adjustments were made with staff to support them to do their job well and meet their individual requirements.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

The provider had a range of systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. In addition, an independent quality consultant carried out unannounced visits to assess the service and reported their findings to the registered manager and provider. However, staff did not always record support they had provided in full. For example, one person’s records lacked consistent information about how staff supported and monitored their emotional wellbeing. The manager said they were aware of this and were actively working with the staff team to ensure people’s daily records were completed appropriately.

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 confirmed they worked in partnership with different services to achieve good outcomes for people, including health professionals, students from a local college and members of a nearby church.

The registered manager said people had enjoyed visits from students from the local college who had helped with some group activities like chess.

A health professional said the registered manager had made significant improvements in the service, particularly in ensuring that the service could meet the needs of new admissions appropriately.

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 were encouraged to develop their skills and were given opportunities to gain qualifications to progress their careers in health and social care. The registered manager explained that improvements had been made to the day to day running of the home to help staff work more effectively. These approaches had also been shared with other managers across the organisation.