Bentley Lodge 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.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment 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 registered manager had created a positive working culture which ensured staff worked as a whole team together to deliver people's care. They listened to people and staff’s feedback about the service. A staff member commented, “I think all the staff from top to bottom are service oriented, to be caring and make sure residents are cared for well.”

The provider’s vision for the service and values were set out in their statement of purpose. Staff understood the aims and objectives for the service. A staff member said, “The vision of the service is to provide good quality care, holistically and person centred. To make sure our home is known to provide good care to everybody in every aspect.”

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 registered manager was very experienced. A new clinical lead who was also the deputy manager had recently joined the service. Both were highly visible within the service and supportive to the staff team. The nominated individual was experienced in running other homes.

The registered manager was knowledgeable about the issues and priorities facing the service. They told us there had initially been a challenge in getting the team to work together effectively, as it comprised of staff from different cultural backgrounds. They had also ensured there was now a leadership role for the care team as well as for the nursing team and promoted and developed existing staff who had the potential to take on leadership roles or additional responsibilities. This led to more effective and collaborative working practices across the team.

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

Staff had access to the providers policies in relation to raising concerns. Staff told us the managers were approachable, they felt listened to and confident any concerns would be acted upon. Staff were also able to provide at their supervisions, meetings, through the staff survey or by speaking directly with the registered manager whose office was centrally located and the door was always open.

The registered manager told us about how staffing was increased following feedback by night staff at their meeting. Their concerns were listened to, the dependency tool was reviewed and the issue was discussed with the provider.

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 registered manager celebrated and welcomed diversity within the workforce. Staff were encouraged to learn about people’s cultural norms and each other’s cultures. Staff were encouraged celebrate and share significant celebrations within their own culture. Staff celebrated Diwali with people. The registered manager told us how any potential for discrimination or inequality was monitored through staff supervisions, the staffing rotas and staff’s work allocations.

Staff told us they felt treated well and were provided with opportunities for development. The nominated individual told us the home enjoyed a high level of staff retention.

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.

The provider had both clinical governance processes in place to assess people’s nursing care and processes to evaluate the performance of the service and any potential risks to the quality or safety of the service. Staff held a weekly clinical risk meeting, to review any identified clinical risks to people and required actions.

The providers care planning system enabled staff to audit various aspects of the service, including for example, medicines, infection control, equipment, call bells, falls, environmental safety and staff files. We saw audits identified areas for improvement and actions were then taken, such as equipment had been replaced. The nominated individual said the system also enabled them to have access and to review the audits remotely when they were not physically on-site.

The registered manager shared the findings of the audits and reviews with the provider through their monthly report which outlined any trends, actions required and an update on progress against previous actions.

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.

Staff worked with a range of health and social care teams and ensured referrals were made to specialist services when required for people. A health care professional told us, staff made appropriate referrals.

Staff engaged with the local community to provide additional opportunities for people. We observed during the site visits, children from a local nursery came for their monthly visit. People and the children were engrossed and delighted as they painted fire work pictures together. Staff told us some people had previously run nurseries and that people both enjoyed make suggestions for the sessions and reviewing them afterwards. The home also had links with local primary school who visited people.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system.

The registered manager understood how to drive improvements within the service whilst involving and listening to staff, who told us “Everyone's views are taken into account.”

The registered manager had made many improvements since commencing their role, including changes to guidance, processes, staff training, staff development, governance, the culture of the service and the environment.

Staff received regular updates on good practice and shared organisational learning through group supervisions, staff meetings, and daily meetings. The provider also managed other care homes and learning was shared across their homes.