Fixby Lodge

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 as good. At this assessment the rating has remained as 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 86 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service 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. People were at the centre of their support when decisions about their lives were being made, and professionals, advocates and relatives when appropriate were involved. The service had processes in place to identify any early signs of a closed culture so appropriate action could be taken.

The service 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. People’s human rights were embraced and the service focused on care plans and person-centred approaches ensuring people could live good, meaningful lives and access and be part of their local community.

The service fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. The service had regular engagement with people and allowed them to engage as they felt comfortable. People told us management were available and spent time talking to people. Staff provided pictorial easy read documents with safeguarding information and discussed these in a planned exercise with people living at the service to improve awareness. The management also engaged with other professionals, advocates and relatives and encouraged a strong focus on people living the life they choose.

The service strongly valued diversity in their workforce. They had an inclusive and fair culture which had improved equality and equity for people who work for them. The provider has an annual leadership development programme for staff progression. Where staff members required additional support due to diagnosed needs, we observed individual support had been provided. For example, information had been provided in an accessible format. Use of green paper, screens and accessible software. Staff members supported to offer insight in the way of training sessions to other staff members to increase their awareness and understanding of diagnosis. The local authority recently completed a staff related stress risk assessment with the workforce, and this was a positive experience. No concerns were raised following the audit.

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 acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate. The service had good governance arrangements at the service. Support plans and risk assessments relating to people were completed and person-centred and contained a good level of detail. We found the provider to be responsive, open and transparent during the assessment. The managers completed regular audits and had good oversight of the service, and this was evident during the inspection.

The service clearly understood and carried out their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, and services worked seamlessly for people. They always shared information and learning with partners and collaborate for improvement. We saw regular engagement with partners and the service was completing prompt referrals to partner agencies when necessary. We saw evidence of meetings with agencies and involvement of advocates to ensure focus on enabling people to thrive, develop skills and have new experiences. The registered manager had taken part and spoke at a recent forum around meaningful activities for people in services and described this event as an opportunity to share experiences and outcomes, learning and improvements through shared practice. Partners we spoke with were positive about the partnership working with Fixby Lodge. Comments included, “I visit the service once a week, so I know the team and all the residents well. The team at Fixby Lodge really do go above and beyond with the care, support and diligence that they provide.”

The service had a strong focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They always 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 was awarded “Investors in People” platinum award. The assessors of the award commented “I could not fail to be impressed by the registered manager’s approach, the enthusiasm of everyone I met and the atmosphere in the service. I have visited Fixby Lodge several times and I am always impressed by the sheer passion, energy and commitment displayed. I have seen the many innovative activities devised by management in the home and the sheer joy they bring to the people they support.”