Tyne Grange

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 andgovernance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; andpromoted an open, fair culture. At our last assessment we rated this key question outstanding. At this assessment the ratinghas remained outstanding. This meant service leadership was exceptional and distinctive.Leaders and the culture they created drove and improved high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 93 (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 very clear shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and an exceptional understanding of the challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

Staff were exceptionally motivated and committed to ensure people were at the centre of the care they provided. They told us about how Tyne Grange was an excellent place to work and they were enthusiastic about coming to work as they were able to spend quality time with people. A staff member commented, “The service users get more attention here [than in other services they had worked]. We are there for them. Every staff member gets time to spend with people.”

People achieved extremely positive outcomes from living at Tyne Grange due to the person-centred care provided. Care professionals praised the service for the skills and knowledge and their ability to support the most complex people. People’s rights relating to equality and diversity were respected. People continued to be supported to follow their religious and cultural wishes.

The provider 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.

Although the service had a different registered manager from our last inspection, they continued to manage with passion and commitment to ensure the existing person-centred culture was maintained. This ensured people were still at the heart of the service and their needs and wishes prioritised. The registered manager was supported by an exceptionally committed management team. The regional manager had been the registered manager for Tyne Grange and retained a keen interest in the service. The registered manager was integral in leading the staff team to develop positive relationships with people and relatives, so people achieved excellent outcomes.

People described with happiness how their lives had been transformed through living at Tyne Grange. Staff only had positive feedback about working and the support they received working at Tyne Grange. They commented, “The support from [registered manager] is unbelievable. Anything you are not sure of, she is always there” and “The registered manager is approachable, I definitely could talk to her. If I am at home, I can just text and she replies.”

The provider was exceptional at fostering a positive culture where people knew they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

The service had an enthusiastic service user ambassador who regularly attended the national service user council for people living in Exemplar services. The council gave people a voice at a national level and the ability to discuss various initiatives and gather feedback from people. The service ambassador fed back information to the other people living at Tyne Grange. Information about the ambassador, their role and contact details were displayed prominently for all to see.

There were regular meaningful opportunities for people to give feedback and be involved indecision making about the care provided at Tyne Grange. Information gathered from regular surveys and forums showed an extremely high level of satisfaction with the care provided.

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 provider had policies and procedures relating to equality, diversity and inclusion. Staff had also completed specific training.

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 always acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

The provider had an established quality assurance system, which was effective in identifying areas for improvement and resolving issues. Audits and checks were completed regularly and action plans developed to address any shortfalls found.

The provider 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 provider, registered manager and staff understood the importance of developing strong links with the local community. They were committed to people feeling part of their community.

Various activities had been held to promote the positive work of the service to the local community. These included a table top sale, a community litter pick in the local area, animal antics event, community arts and crafts group, a dog therapy café and a community-based Christmas party. People received praise and positive feedback from partners for their efforts in reaching out. Members of the community shared they enjoyed visiting the home and would likely return for other events. With regards to the dog therapy café, a professional commented, “The residents enjoy going out and buying treats and toys for her (therapy dog), and will practice training her with tricks. Our more mobile residents come with me to take her for walks, which is great for additional exercise and independence”.

Staff encouraged and motivated people to access the local community as often as possible. There were numerous trips people had enjoyed. People had experienced especially positive outcomes from these events including improved mental and emotional well-being, reduced loneliness and depression, social interaction and community building.

Tyne Grange were committed to supporting the community in any ways they could. They worked in partnership with Northumbria University to support the clinical education and professional development of future healthcare practitioners. This included student nurse placements in mental health, learning disabilities, adults and allied health professions. The nurse on duty told us about the excellent support they had received to enable to become a registered nurse.

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.

Staff felt empowered to give feedback as they knew they would be listened to and their feedback valued. Staff said management acted to implement strategies and improvements to improve how care was provided. A staff member said, “It is really good having the huddle board. Staff felt they were not getting enough information so the huddle board was introduced every morning, so everyone knows what is going on.”

The provider proactively informed staff of how their feedback was considered and implemented. There was a ‘you said, we did’ approach to learning which highlighted the changes implemented in relation to engagement, learning and development, resources, management, values and inclusion. ‘You said, we did’ was also used in response to feedback from people and included organising a summer fete, a trip to St James’ Park and a special cultural themed Christmas event.

Specific lessons learnt sessions were conducted to identify the root cause of an issue, analyse the findings and identify positive strategies to deal with these. The provider was committed to implementing improvements throughout their services. They operated an organisational lessons learned approach across all services they ran.