Aspen Gardens

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. The provider’s vision and values were shared with people and published on their website, alongside their equality and diversity policy. People, relatives and staff had easy access to these. Values were embedded through staff training, supervision, team meetings as well as daily communications during care delivery.

Leaders and staff told us there was a positive culture in the service and staff worked together with a common aim. A staff member told us, “Community spirit, continuity of care and staff morale are what works well in the service."

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.

There was a registered manager in post who was knowledgeable about the service and demonstrated caring values. Staff told us they felt well supported in their roles and found the registered manager approachable. They also told us that communication systems and team working within the service were effective. Leaders held regular meetings with staff to support good teamwork.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Policies supported staff to speak up, providing routes for anonymous concerns as well as signposting them to external agencies. Staff told us they felt confident to speak up. A staff member told us, “Any concerns about anything are taken seriously and are acted upon fairly."

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. Recruitment processes, training and policy and procedures were in place to support equality, diversity and inclusion. Staff told us they felt they were treated fairly.

The provider did not always have clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability or good governance. They did not always act on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes.

Governance and auditing processes were in place which fed into action plans. While most areas of governance were effective, the provider’s processes failed to identify the issues with recruitment found at this inspection. The provider was not always working in-line with relevant guidance to ensure they met best practice. When we raised these issues with the registered manager, they offered assurances on the action they would take to embed and sustain improvements.

The provider had recently had an external audit and had been responsive to actions identified. The provider and the registered manager made regular checks on the quality of the service and took actions to drive improvement.

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. Leaders worked proactively with external professionals, which helped resolve issues and keep people safe. Staff acted quickly when needs changed and maintained strong links with GPs, social workers and the housing provider to address medication, housing and care‑package issues. The service had strong links with the local community including community and faith groups who visited people in the service.

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. The service documented learning from incidents and accidents and took direct action to support people and keep them safe. Staff felt they received feedback about incidents in a timely manner. The registered manager attended provider forums to learn and share good practice. Leaders held regular business reviews of the service to look for areas of learning and improvement.