Rock Healthcare Limited

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

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 outstanding. At this assessment, the rating has changed and is now rated as good.

This service scored 79 (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 very clear shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and a good understanding of the challenges and the needs of people and their communities. All staff had contributed to the development of the practice vision and strategy, which was kept under review. The practice was aware of the needs of the population and was working with partner agencies to address future challenges.

The service worked well with the PCN and through support and close working with Bardoc the provider was able to share good practice with other providers and lead by example. The culture at the practice was one of openness, honesty and integrity. Speaking to people that were employed at the practice it was clear that the provider at management level supported learning for all employees and encouraged flexible working patterns to improve work life balance.

The practice worked in a way that supported people from different backgrounds and the work being undertaken with the local homeless charity is one example of this. The service allowed users with no fix abode to use the provider address for any correspondence and was able to sign post individuals to local support groups and charities that met the individual needs of people.

The service had fully 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 always did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

Staff told us leaders in the practice were approachable and responded to any concerns raised. Staff also told us leaders modelled the values of the practice. We saw the leadership team work with other practices in the PCN and were engaged in the development of primary care services within the local area.

The service was remarkable at fostering a positive culture where people knew they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Staff told us that the senior managers encouraged staff to speak up if they felt that something was not right. Staff told us they felt enabled to speak up due to the policies in place and they knew that concerns or suggestions they made would be listened too and feedback would be given where appropriate if changes or suggestions could not be put in place. The practice had established Freedom to Speak up arrangements with other practices in the primary care network. Staff were aware of how to raise concerns and who they could approach if they felt that they needed too. The majority of the staff that we spoke to, and from staff survey results received advised that they had no cause to use the freedom to speak up policy but felt that having the policy in place was robust and assured them that they could raise concerns external to the practice if they felt there was a need. The staff told us that they felt comfortable raising concerns with the managers within the practice.

The service valued diversity in their workforce. They work towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who work for them. Policies and procedures to promote diversity and equality were in place. We did not see any forms of discrimination towards staff from the senior leaders. Staff told us that they felt valued and flexible working hours were available for staff to help improve a healthy work life balance. Managers ensured that all staff were included in work related discussions and all activities that were planned to promote wellbeing. There was a wellbeing board, and a staff member kept this up to date and there were social events planned. There was a break room available for use by the staff, we were told that staff chose not to use this and preferred to take breaks off site.

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. Leaders and managers supported staff, and all staff we spoke with were clear on their individual roles and responsibilities. Managers met with staff regularly to complete appraisals and performance reviews. Staff could access all required policies and procedures. Managers held regular practice meetings with staff, during which they discussed clinical concerns and emerging risks. Managers clearly recorded any actions arising from these meetings and ensured they shared these with staff. Staff took patient confidentiality and information security seriously.

The service clearly understood and carried out their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, and services worked seamlessly for people. They always share information and learning with partners and collaborate for improvement. The provider worked with other practices within their primary care network to offer extended access, and flu and covid vaccination programmes. Staff had made adjustments to improve coordination of their service with community healthcare services, including through recently established weekly meetings centred on the care of those at higher risk of hospital admission. The practice offered support to a local brain injury unit that they were not funded for. The unit cares for patients with ongoing complex medical needs. The practice offers GP and nurse ward rounds on site visit to all patients that are cared for on the unit. The practice also supports a local homeless charity called Red Door – they are one of the providers of choice and offer all services to visitors and members of the public. They offer the homeless community a care of address if required. The practice meets with the charity regularly and works with the charity to offer specific clinics based on the needs of the charities service users.

The service had a strong focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement throughout the organisation and local system. They always encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. They actively contribute to safe, effective practice and research. The practice had a quality improvement plan in place to help drive improvements in services. The practice had a good strong working relationship within the local PCN and led on new initiatives that were then implemented by other practices within the Integrated Care Board (ICB) local area. All staff were encouraged to put forward and test out new ways of working, and we saw examples where the nursing staff had made changes to the clinical room to make it more child friendly and age appropriate.

The practice held regular monthly meetings where significant events were discussed anonymously where possible and learning from these discussions was then shared with the wider practice team. If there was learning for individuals, then this was documented and recorded. There were enough appropriately qualified staff employed at the practice to support individual learning and supervision to ensure incidents with the potential to cause harm were mitigated.