Stone Barton Short Break

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.
Records showed the provider shared learning through monthly lessons learned newsletters and weekly staff briefings, which supported a positive culture of continuous improvement. The providers statement of purpose promoted independence, choice, dignity, inclusion, safeguarding and personalised support.

Staff described a ‘friendly team’ committed to providing high quality, person-centred care.

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 consistently described the registered manager as ‘approachable”, ‘friendly’ and ‘very good,’ and felt well supported in their roles.

Relatives also spoke positively about leadership, with one stating they had ‘absolute faith in the manager’ and felt communication was timely and responsive.

The management team promoted staff development through regular supervision, training and appraisal systems, which supported delivery of safe and effective care. There were arrangements for leadership cover when the manager was absent to ensure the service continued to deliver quality care and oversight.

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

Staff told us they felt confident concerns would be taken seriously and acted upon.

Relatives also reported they could raise issues and felt listened to. One relative told us, “(Registered manager’s name) is easy to talk to and accessible. I’ll send an email and I get a response within a day most of the time in an hour. They communicate leave so you know who to contact. They let us know if they are concerned about anything in the service.”

We saw records identifying action was being taken by the registered manager to explore new approaches to gathering feedback.

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.

We saw records of themed days celebrating different cultures.

Staff described a supportive and inclusive environment where people from different cultures worked well together and were treated fairly. The provider actively promoted inclusion through staff newsletters celebrating diversity and sharing learning about cultural awareness. Staff reported feeling respected and valued, contributing to positive morale and teamwork.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, of accountability. Some improvements were needed to ensure all systems were robust.

Some systems and processes within the service needed some attention to ensure they were fully effective and robust. For example, staff files showed out of date right-to-work documents, which had not been identified by the registered manager. Although the registered manager tool immediate action to provide up to date documents. However, the providers systems and processes failed to identify this shortfall.

The providers systems and process in relation to people's finances needed some improvements. For example, receipts were obtained. However, it was not always clear what had been spent and when money had been removed. We did not identify anyone had come to harm or abuse.

The management team told us, they work on the floor to monitor and provide oversight on the day to day running of the service. This allowed the registered manager to support staff and understand how the service was working.

Systems were in place, including audits of incidents, medication, infection control and performance, and management oversight of these processes. There was evidence of regular governance meetings, incident analysis and quality monitoring processes. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support.

The provider had systems to ensure there was clear oversight. There were other roles within the service providing additional support and governance to the registered manager.

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.

Records showed the service engaged with healthcare professionals and sought specialist advice, including nursing support for delegated clinical tasks.

Staff described working closely with families and external professionals to ensure care was aligned with people’s needs and preferences.

Relatives confirmed they were involved in care planning and reviews and felt communication supported continuity of care. However, there were some challenges in accessing consistent community nursing input, although alternative arrangements had been made.

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.

The provider had systems to review incidents and accidents monthly and identify lessons learned, which were shared across the organisation and staffing team.

The registered manager had a system to circulate important documents to share practice and learning. The registered manager told us, they had initially provided the records, but staff were not reading them, now the registered manager checks their knowledge and understanding.

The registered manager attended seminars and networked with other registered managers to share learning and ideas.