Whyke 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 requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

The service was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to good governance. Improvements were found at this assessment and the service was no longer in breach of this regulation.

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.

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. People and their relatives described the service as being inclusive and welcoming with a homely atmosphere. One relative told us, “When I entered this home, I immediately got a good feeling, it is extremely friendly.” A person told us , “This is my home, my room is cosy, and the staff are all kind and caring.”

Staff demonstrated a clear understanding of the needs of people with dementia and knew how to support them. We observed consistently positive interactions between staff and people. For example, a person was not able to take part in a quiz activity due to the level of their dementia. A staff member recognised this and ensured they remained involved by talking to them about the questions, providing opportunities to reminisce about their past experiences. This ensured the person had a positive experience and remained included. Another staff member was heard reassuring a person who was showing signs of anxiety and distress. They were skilful in their approach, recognising and acknowledging the person’s anxiety and providing reassurance in a way that validated their fears and respected their dignity.

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.

The service had two registered managers, on the day of the assessment one was present and the day to day running of the service was managed by a deputy manager. People, their relatives and staff spoke positively about the leadership of the home. One person said, “The home is managed very well.” Staff told us they felt well supported, valued and were happy working at the service. One staff member said, “The managers are very supportive to me and the whole team.” A relative told us their impressions were, “The carers (staff) always look happy, they are always very jolly.” Our observations were that staff appeared relaxed, confident and looked as though they were enjoying their roles.

Staff told us the registered managers were both hands on and got involved in providing care to people. One staff member said, “If we need it, they will come in weekends and run shifts.” A relative told us the registered manager knew people well and supported with care if needed. They said, “The manager is very caring.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

Staff spoke positively about the open culture at the service and described being able to raise any concerns with the manager. One staff member said, “We have regular meetings, we can raise any issues. We also have individual supervision meetings with lots of opportunities to feed back.” Another staff member told us how staff meetings supported their work. They said, “We know what we need to focus on and we discuss if anything goes wrong or could be done better.” Notes from staff meetings included opportunities for staff to contribute and raise any concerns.

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 recruited a diverse workforce and promoted a fair and equitable culture. Staff told us they felt well supported and were provided with opportunities for development. All the staff we spoke with described a positive working environment. Staff had received training in equality and diversity and described strong team work, where staff supported each other. One staff member said, “I have had a good experience working here, the staff team have strong personalities and a good team makes it better, we work together to do the job well.”

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.

The provider had robust systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. Audits were completed regularly to identify any shortfalls. For example, medicine audits were completed and included spot checks of medicine stocks.

Systems supported the registered manager to have good oversight. For example, incidents and accidents were monitored by the registered manager to identify patterns or trends and to ensure that all appropriate actions had been taken to reduce risks of further incidents.

Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities. Systems supported this by ensuring staff had clear plans to work to on a daily basis. Staff told us communication systems were effective in updating them about any changes, for example if a person needed additional care or support.

Records were accurate and kept up to date. For example we noted how a care plan had been updated when staff noticed a person’s ability to navigate around the service independently had reduced. This meant staff had the information they needed to respond quickly to the person’s change in needs.

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.

The culture of the service was open and transparent. The registered manager reported information appropriately to external partners including the local authority. Staff worked collaboratively with health and social care professionals to provide join-up support for people. For example, a staff member described working with the Echo team to develop a personalised care plans for a person who was approaching end of life care.

Records included examples of partnership working with health and social care professionals including SaLT, Physiotherapist, OT, Stoma nurse and Diabetes nurse.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They 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 a strong focus on learning and development at the service. The provider had achieved an Investors in People accreditation at silver level. This is a framework for measuring how an organisation supports and manages their workforce. The registered manager said they were committed to continuous learning and support and wanted to work towards a further accreditation.

Staff had opportunities to reflect on their practice and identify areas for improvement. For example, staff were supported to undertake reflections on their practice following caring for people at end of life. This gave staff an opportunity to consider what had gone well and where improvements could be made to enhance people’s end of life care in future.

Staff were consistently positive about the support and training opportunities they were offered. One staff member described feeling valued and said the provider had an aware scheme to celebrate staff achievements. This was reflected within notes from staff meetings.