St Albans House

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 Inadequate. At this assessment the rating has improved to 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.

Since the last inspection this home has had a change of provider. The new leadership and staff team demonstrated a positive, compassionate, listening culture. It was clear from watching interactions between staff and people that there was trust and understanding between them.

The registered manager was experienced in their role and ably supported by the Head of Area Operations manager. The registered manager led by example in the way they conducted themselves in the home and the way they spoke with people and staff members. There was a culture of dignity and inclusivity throughout the home.

The entire staff team acted with openness, honesty and transparency.The registered manager encouraged staff to raise concerns and promoted the value of doing so. All staff were confident their voices would be heard.

When the new provider took over St Albans House, leaders took immediate action to review and improve the culture of the organisation in the context of equality, diversity and inclusion. Leaders acted to remove bias from practices to help ensure equality of opportunity and experience for the workforce throughout their employment.

Staff told us they felt empowered and were confident their concerns and ideas resulted in positive change to help shape services and create a more equitable and inclusive organisation.

At the previous inspection in June 2023, we found systems had not been established to assess, monitor, and mitigate risks to the health, safety and welfare of people using the service. This placed people at risk of harm and was a breach of regulation 17(1) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

At this inspection we found the provider operated a robust governance system. The registered manager was responsible for completing audits about all aspects of the service. Any identified concerns were shared with relevant departments automatically, they then liaised with the registered manager to provide support with any actions and timescales as needed. The Head of Operations reviews and oversees the service and makes sure all appropriate actions are taken.

The provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

The management team were open and transparent, and they worked in partnership with key organisations to support care provision, service development and joined-up care for people.

Management and staff engaged with people, communities and partners to share learning with each other helping to drive continuous improvements to the service.

The new provider had a good understanding of how to make improvement happen. Their approach was consistent and included measuring outcomes and impact of any actions taken.

Staff and people using the service told is they were involved in all aspects of running the home including interviewing new staff and choosing décor around the home.

The provider had processes to help ensure learning happened when things went wrong, and also from examples of good practice. Lessons from the previous inspection had been learned in full and all relevant actions had been completed.

Staff were encouraged to speak up with ideas for improvement and innovation, there was a strong sense of trust between the management team and staff.