Abbeyfield Winnersh

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 inspection we rated this key question Good. At this inspection the rating has remained 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 service had a positive culture demonstrated by staff and leaders who were passionate and innovative in ensuring there was a shared vision and strategy on delivering high quality care. Staff told us how they enjoyed working at the service. One staff member said, “I intend to stay here and keep my career here.”

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.

Leaders were experienced knowledgeable and passionate about delivering high quality care and ensuring staff were provided with the necessary skills and resources.

Staff consistently told us how they felt supported in their roles and how they found the manager approachable, open and honest. Staff told us the communication systems and team working within the service were robust and effective. Staff told us, “I have had my ups and downs working here and I tendered my resignation in August as I was so upset with the way it was here. However, when [manager] came on board, I retracted my resignation and I am really glad I did”, “Things have got better here, it’s a really nice environment and [manager] is brilliant” and “Yes, it is a safe place to work for all, the management is run tightly and we log and act on everything.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Meetings were held with people and relatives where suggestions could be raised and we saw, where appropriate acted upon.

Regular meetings were held with staff, including supervision, handovers and briefings. Staff told us they felt confident in speaking up to raise issues or concerns. One staff member said, “We all have a voice here and the manager listens.”

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.

The manager demonstrated how they valued staff by working closely with them to understand staff’s individual needs and by making reasonable adjustments to accommodate and support them in their work.Staff told us where adjustments were made to their working week to support them. One member of staff told us, “Abbeyfield are such a good employer, they helped me so much when my mother died with compassionate leave and shift swapping and adjustments. They really invest in their staff.”

The provider 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 acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

Systems were in place to monitor and improve the service. These systems flagged concerns such as missed medicines, accidents and incidents. The manager told us, “When I arrived, we weren’t reporting appropriately so I have urged the staff to report everything, to the point where now we are probably over reporting so, now we have established this open culture we can fine tune it. We are heading in the right direction.” Team meetings were in place along with briefings and consistent handovers and communication. Staff we spoke to were appreciative of these new systems. One staff member said, “There is now consistency on messaging and communication and new ways to learn and approach care. We have more checks and more meetings.”

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 had built links with community services and healthcare services such as GPs, physiotherapist, dentist, podiatrist and optician, as needed. The manager told us, “We understand our duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so our services work seamlessly for people. We share information and learning with partners and collaborate for improvement.”

Records confirmed the manager was working closely with the local authority through meetings and action plans to improve 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. They actively contributed to safe, effective practice and research.

The service documented learning within 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.

Comments from residents’ meetings were used to improve the service. For example, regular outings into the community had been arranged and we were told they were a success. One staff member said, “The outings that we had this week, taking people out, that was an idea that came from ‘residents’ meetings. They [people] said they wanted to go out, so we looked into it. Abbeyfield supported it, there isn’t a high budget but there are some other months programmed to do the same, in August for instance and there are plans to take people out on a boat too.”