Saxon Manor 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 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 providers had a vision strategy for the service. This was based on transparency, equality, diversity and inclusion. This vision strategy included how to make the workplace more equitable for staff with protected characteristics. There were measures in the strategy to ensure people are treated fairly and have access to the right care and support. The providers reported notifiable events in a timely manner to both the Local Authority and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which demonstrated transparency and a commitment to keeping people safe from harm. The Registered Manager had worked collaboratively with staff to address a lack of cohesive working. They achieved this through supervision, wellbeing and out-of-hours visits. They have reported staff are working as a team now and the atmosphere had improved.

The Registered Manager and Deputy Manager were a visible presence in the service. They led by example and embodied the values and culture of the service. One staff member told us, “When [Deputy Manager] started, she worked on the floor with us to get to know people and was changing beds. She has so much knowledge, she loves to share it with us.” Staff spoke positively about the providers and said they were visible when they visited and engaged with them. The Registered Manager told us they felt supported in their role by the providers and managers from the provider’s other services. They had regular supervision and would meet with other managers quarterly where they share learning, for example, dealing with complaints.

The providers had processes in place which enabled and empowered staff to speak up. Staff told us they felt confident approaching the management team and speaking up in meetings. One staff member said, “I never feel nervous about going to [Registered Manager’s] office. I’ve had to in the past.” They went on to explain how they had suggested an improvement and it was implemented.

Staff told us they felt valued and respected by both the management team and their colleagues. One staff member said, “They’re kind of like a family to me.” A second member of staff told us how supportive they found the Registered Manager, “She is very lovely, it’s a welcoming atmosphere. We can go to her, and she listens to us.” Staff spoke positively about how they worked together and said morale was good. One staff member said, “I work in a really lovely team. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Newer staff are so willing to learn. Our senior is always so happy. She always, always gives us support. Never afraid to ask her anything. She says hi, and asks how our day’s going.” They went on to say, “I feel valued. I always go above and beyond. [Registered Manager] recognised that. My work feels noticed.”

The providers had a thorough programme of quality monitoring audits, but these did not identify the issues we found during our assessment. Records relating to people’s care and treatment needed improvement to ensure they were truly person-centred and written in a respectful, dignified way. The providers assured us that these concerns would be reviewed and that staff would receive further training to address them. Other parts of the service were monitored effectively, with improvements identified and appropriate actions taken. The providers also maintained an ongoing action plan informed by the audit findings, which offered a clear overview of the service and tracked progress on improvements.

The providers understood the importance of working in partnership to ensure services worked collaboratively for people. Referrals to healthcare professionals and the local authority were made without delay. They also worked closely with commissioning bodies to review and improve the service. The Registered Manager told us how they met with pharmacies and GPs to make sure processes are more streamlined, such as ensuring prescriptions are sent to people’s correct address, as they were being sent to people’s previous addresses. They also reported having a good working relationship with the hospitals and hospital staff would call before discharging a person or if their medicines or care needs have changed. This helped to inform if a reassessment was needed prior to returning to the service.

Both the providers and Registered Manager had a good understanding of how to continually improve the service. They were receptive to our findings regarding the concerns we found with people’s care records and provided assurances this would be rectified. The Registered Manager was making improvements to the activities provision and told us they had started a book club where the library provided a number of copies of the same book so people could enjoy the book at the same time and discuss it. This was also available in audio format. Extra training had been sourced for staff such as forums to be held by a local society for people living with sight loss and the Alzheimer’s Society. In addition to this, professionals from mental health services are going to deliver training in managing distressed behaviour and district nurses are going to speak to staff about providing end of life care and wound management.