Woodthorpe 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 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 71 (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. There was a positive culture at the service. Staff told us, “A really good culture has developed here where we recognise each other’s abilities and strengths and respect these. We learn from each other, and the managers offer consistency and support” and “The culture is a lot better now. We did have friction in the staff team and a poor culture which had an impact on people. Now everyone is a lot happier and calmer. The management team promote quality and people’s needs come first. I am really happy in my job now.”

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. There was a manager in post, but they had yet to apply for registration with the Care Quality Commission. People’s relatives knew who the management team were and felt they had made improvements to the service. A relative told us, “The home is tidier, and the staff seem more organised. [Name] is looked after very well; the staff are amazing.” People were not as aware of the manager but related well to the deputy manager. Comments included, “I’ve no idea which is the manager now,” “I find them all fine in the office” and “[Manager] is new aren’t they? I don’t see them much, I speak to [Deputy manager] mostly.” Staff felt the management team were approachable and supportive. A staff member told us, “They are always receptive and take time to listen. They have made things better here.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Policies included the topics of safeguarding and whistleblowing, and information was displayed around the service to encourage staff to speak up. The manager told us the service actively supported staff to speak up with any concerns. Staff confirmed this and knew how to report concerns about poor standards of care. One staff member said, “If I had concerns, I would report it. I know to report above the manager if they didn’t deal with it.”

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. All staff and managers spoken to identified with a shared commitment to good practice and an open approach to problems and issues. Staff felt well-supported in doing their jobs and spoke positively about teamwork, shared values and care for people. A staff member told us, “We respect each other’s culture and diversity and that makes for good teamwork.” Staff described management support for them to achieve a good work-life balance, and care and flexibility when health or family circumstances required it.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, and systems of accountability, though these were in the process of being embedded in the service at the time of our assessment. Prior to our inspection visit, there was evidence the service had not always acted on the best information about risk or shared this with others when appropriate. The provider had implemented improvements including changes to the management and staff team, governance and oversight of accidents and incidents and culture within the service. Audits and checks had been carried out, though some of the issues we noted had not been identified or improvements had not been fully embedded at the time of our assessment. For example, the lack of strategies to support people who experienced distress, inconsistencies in care plan records, staff deployment and medicine issues had not been identified through audits and checks. The provider’s representative was working with the management team to make required improvements and ensure a more robust approach to governance and oversight was sustained.

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 closely with external agencies and the local community to ensure people could access the services they needed.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation, and improvement across the organisation. At this inspection leaders of the service were fully engaged and took proactive steps to address some areas of feedback we raised. Staff received regular training and updates. The provider ensured lessons had been learnt around the level of people’s needs they were able to support within the service and had revised pre-admission assessment processes as a result. The provider shared this information with the staff team to ensure they were aware, and this helped support staff understanding and support. Although we found some short-falls at this assessment, it was clear the provider was committed to making improvements to help people achieve positive outcomes from their care and support.