Viera Gray House

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 now 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.

Staff were supported by their line managers and senior staff to deliver consistently safe, person-centred care to people in line with the provider’s vision and values for the service. Managers told us they routinely used individual and group meetings to remind staff about the provider’s underlying core values and principles.

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 service had a new registered manager in post who was supported by the deputy manager who were both suitably skilled, knowledgeable and experienced. The feedback we received from people about how the management team was positive. Typical comments included, “The managers are very approachable and I think they do a good job running the home”, “The way the home is managed has definitely improved over the last year or so” and “I am assured the relatively new managers are competent, strong leaders who have made a real difference in a relatively brief period of time.They have used their experience and skills to strengthen the care home and create a positive culture there.”

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

The care home had an open and transparent culture where people living there, relatives, external health and social care professionals and staff were all encouraged to raise concerns and without fear. The provider used a range of methods to gather people’s views about their experiences of living, visiting or working at the care home including, what the service did well and what they might do better. This included regular individual and group meetings with people and satisfaction surveys. People told us they felt comfortable raising concerns with the managers and felt listened to. A relative said, “If I have any concerns I feel free to discuss them with staff and confident they will be managed. When I’ve required some clarification about certain matters and I have felt able to approach staff and management about them and felt listened too.” Another relative added, “When I have had to raise issues with the service regarding my [family members] room or welfare they have always responded promptly and effectively and dealt with the matter to our satisfaction.”

However, whilst most staff felt they could speak up and their voices heard, we also received some negative feedback. Typical comments included, “We have staff meetings, they [managers] listen sometimes, but sometimes they don’t take our feedback on board” and “We work well together and we try and help each other out, but communication with the managers could be improved”.

We discussed the mixed feedback from staff with the managers during this inspection. They told us they had an open door policy and staff were welcome to come and raise any concerns in confidence. We reviewed staff meeting minutes and saw in concurrent staff minutes in September and October 2024, it was recorded and acknowledged that communication needed to be improved. We also saw the registered manager had told staff that a ‘safe space’ was available to them if needed to discuss things in confidence without any consequence.

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.

Staff were positive about the leadership approach of the management team who they said treated them fairly. Staff told us there views were always respected and listened to by the registered manager and the deputy manager and they felt valued members of the team.

Managers understood the importance of having a fair and inclusive workplace for all staff to work in. Staff were provided support through relevant training and supervision to inform their knowledge and understanding of equality, inclusivity and fairness in the workplace.

The service 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 act on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and share this securely with others when appropriate.

Governance systems were well-established, effectively operated and used to regularly check and audit the quality and safety of care and support people received at the care home. The outcomes from checks and audits were used to identify performance shortfalls and make any changes as and when required to improve staffs working practices. Managers and senior staff demonstrated a good understanding of their governance roles and responsibilities in relation to assessing, monitoring and managing the quality and safety of the service they provided.

The quality of information recorded and maintained on people’s records, and records relating to the management of the service was sufficiently detailed, up to date and accurate.

The managers and staff understood their responsibilities in relation to regulatory requirements around notifiable incidents. Our records indicated they continued to notify the CQC in a timely manner about any incidents and events they were legally required to. They also understood their responsibility to apply duty of candour and where appropriate apologised when things went wrong.

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 provider shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

Managers and staff told us they worked closely with various external health and social care professionals and bodies who they regularly consulted and welcomed their views and advice. Guidance and recommendations from professionals were included in people’s care plans. We saw evidence in care records of input form external healthcare partners, including the GP, the Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) and Therapy Teams. External health and social care professionals confirmed this when they explained they had only positive experiences of working with this provider. An external care professional told us, “The management team have a good awareness of their residents and they work well with us, take recommendations on-board and seek our advice and support when needed.” Another added, “This provider works appropriately alongside us. They are responsive and quick to adopt changes and take forward suggestions for improvement, which they do in a timely manner.”

The service 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 contribute to safe, effective practice and research.

Managers recognised the importance of learning lessons and continuous improvement to ensure people living at the care home received good quality, safe care and support. An external care professionals told us, “I believe the managers and staff are proactive in learning and creating change to benefit the people living in the care home.” Managers told us all the audits and checks the provider conducted were routinely analysed to identify performance shortfalls and learn lessons, so the service could continuously improve. When lessons needed to be learnt the provider developed action plans to improve the service they provided people. Staff confirmed information about any lessons learnt and action plans developed as a result were always shared with them during individual and group supervision meetings with their line managers.