Fairdene 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 good. At this assessment the rating has changed to outstanding. This meant service leadership was exceptional and distinctive. Leaders and the culture they created drove and improved high-quality, person-centred care.

The leadership was continuously striving to implement changes within the home to have a positive impact on people. The leadership went above and beyond to ensure staff had job satisfaction and were equipped with the skills they required to carry out their duties and deliver high quality care. New systems ensured that care plans were reflective of people’s care and support needs, were up to date and that staff and relatives had resources to support their well-being.

This service scored 89 (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 and management team created a shared direction that ensured that people were always at the heart of the decisions that impacted their lives. The management team told us how they had a practice development session with staff each week to discuss and improve their practice and involve staff in decision making and changes. Staff told us how the home offers lots of opportunities to people to get out and about and be a part of the local community. One staff member told us: “I like working here, we are a good team, and the manager supports us well.” Another staff member told us: “[Registered manager] is an excellent manager, she is why I work here. She knows a lot and helps us.”

The home had exceptionally 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. The management team had extensive knowledge of how best to support and improve the quality of lives of people living with dementia. It was clear that the registered manager was a capable, compassionate and an inclusive leader based on the feedback we received from staff, families and community health professionals, everyone gave us positive feedback about the wealth and knowledge the manager had about the service and the people living there. The management team had a good oversight of the business and had a good vision for the home; they were continuing to implement improvement within the home. The registered manager told us how they attended practice development forums that run monthly to share information and expressed how these were beneficial and a good learning experience. People benefitted from the community engagement that the manager focused on. The registered manager also attended provider forums and was inviting hospital staff and ambulance crews to these forums to try and implement change around hospital discharges back to care homes to ensure they were safe and effective. Staff told us how they found the management team approachable and that they felt they could go to them anytime and they always listened to them. Staff told us: “I can go to the managers any time that I want. They listen to me and take me seriously.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard . The management team worked with staff to ensure they understood the whistle blowing policy and what it meant. Systems and processes were in place to formally record, investigate and respond to feedback received. Staff were confident about being able to speak up if they needed to and were knowledgeable about how to. Staff told us, “I would always raise issues if I saw them. We have meetings to discuss everything.” Another staff member told us, “Yes, I know about whistleblowing.” The management team encouraged staff to speak up and regularly gave staff opportunities to be open and voice their opinions. A manager told us, “We always encourage staff to raise any concerns, we want to hear from them.”

The provider strongly valued diversity in their workforce. They had an inclusive and fair culture which had improved equality and equity for people who worked for them. There was extensive support for all staff to ensure that every day was a good day at work for them. The management team told us how they had implemented a new software application, all staff had access to this, and it offered staff a range of support services. Staff also had access to a psychologist who came into the home or other available support with community services. Staff were allocated a mentor with regular staff check ins. The management team had an exceptional understanding of the challenges and potential barriers some sponsorship staff might face . They went to great lengths to ensure that all staff felt welcomed, felt a sense of belonging and enjoyed their job. There were opportunities for staff promotion and staff had been promoted. The management team also told us: “Sponsorship staff were supported to settle in at Fairdene, they were offered 4 months’ free rent, food parcels during Covid, support with any language barriers they had and support to build confidence and settle in and feel at home.” Relatives told us how the staff were always welcoming and they always delivered great care because they all enjoyed their job. All staff gave positive feedback about how they were included and well supported and that everyone felt like family.

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. There was a clear understanding of statutory regulatory requirements and there was good governance across the management team. There were very robust processes for auditing and oversight of all aspects of the home and care delivery. Documentation was easily accessible and well organised. People and their relatives spoke highly of the management team and the staff. The relatives told us they always felt welcomed and included and the management team were always there if ever they needed to speak with them. Relatives told us they were asked for feedback and had the opportunity to attend regular meetings at the home. Relatives told us, “Any concerns, the manager is quick to make adjustments.” Another relative told us, “Communication is always good.”

The management team clearly understood and carried out their duty to collaborate and worked in partnership, and services worked seamlessly for people. They always shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement. The management team explained how they worked collaboratively with community services to maximise opportunities for people. The home continued to do the wish process, which is about making people’s wishes come true to give them fulfilling lives. For example, one person was a fan of a famous singer, their wish was to meet this person. The home arranged a tribute singer to come in to meet this person. The home had a strong focus to ensure people maintained local community links, they had a local school, local church and choir visiting the home and people went out to the local library and attended church services. There was a very strong support network for staff and families to ensure they had support as and when they needed it. Staff worked well with visiting professionals and each other, and this was observed during our assessment, staff working collaboratively with health professionals. The management team told us, “We have good relationships with the local authority and the community health teams. We call them, they come in and we follow their advice.” Relatives told were always referrals made if their loved ones needed support from community healthcare professionals and this always done promptly. One relative told us, “They have a charity that offer bike rides around the town. I was walking along the sea front and saw my mother on a bike ride, I was pleasantly surprised.” The home had the pharmacy who came in to do audits and lectures to improve staff understanding and knowledge of different medicines. The home liaised with the palliative care hub and other community health professionals. Extensive work had been done with families to support and educate them around dementia.

The provider 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. There was clear evidence of ongoing learning and evidence of further training being organised with outside agencies to maximise staff engagement and development. The management team identified when new learning opportunities were required and were proactive with arranging this. Staff were involved in identifying new areas of learning such a specialist behaviour training and staff were extremely confident and passionate when supporting people due to the knowledge and high level of training they had received. Staff were given extensive opportunities to progress and grow in their roles and some staff had completed National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) level 4 and 5 .. For example extensive research went in to tailoring people’s care, based on their stimulation and engagement. From case tracking people we were able to see the positive impact this had on people’s lives, how they had built new relationships and were joining in with activities and enjoying their time at the home. The management team told us how they carry out observations in communal areas of staff interactions with people to identify further development requirements. The home understood that some people had complex needs and specialist training had been provided, staff knew how best to deliver their care and support. The home used a consultancy who did external audits and provided advice and highlighted areas for improvements to increase better care delivery. A community professional told us: “They are trained in administration and handling of medicines as well as using a non-pharmacological approach where appropriate which is highly recommended with dementia residents.”