The Highgate Care Home

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

The service was well led, by both immediate and higher management. Staff felt part of a team and able to contribute to decision making. Management had clear oversight of running of the home, evidenced through well maintained audits, procedures and risk assessments. Business continuity plans were robust and well presented to encourage smooth running of the home in case emergency. Efforts were made to engage people, their relatives and staff to deliver safe and effective care that meets the needs of those resident at service. Management were experienced in the adult social care field and understood roles of those they were supervising and the challenges staff may face. Management expressed they felt well supervised by senior staff members. Working practice demonstrated a cohesive workforce with a shared vision of the service.

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.

Feedback from the most recent staff survey shows that a large majority felt the company values were lived by the staff who worked there. Staff also felt there was a strong customer focus.

Staff survey results showed that people who worked here felt inspired by management. They also showed that staff felt that the workforce was collaborative. Staff told us they felt able to raise concerns with senior staff without fear of reprisal and they expected that managers would be honest with time. They felt well communicated with and able to be involved in any changes. The manager told us they felt well supported by more senior leaders and able to approach them for support. The manager also felt senior staff had good oversight of the service and visited regularly to provide supervision and support.

Staff told us they felt included in decisions relating to the home. They all told us they would be confident in raising any concerns with the home manager and also confident in escalating to more senior mangers if required. “If I had concerns I would raise these with my line manager. If nothing happened I would use the whistleblowing procedure.” Staff survey results indicated that 87% of respondents were confident in using the Speak Up procedure if they ever needed to.

The complaints procedure was clear and communicated to people. This included internal and external escalation points if they were unhappy with outcomes. The complaints report detailed reasons for complaints, actions taken and outcomes. There was a clear 'speak up' procedure for staff. This also included external agencies if staff felt they couldn't raise issues directly within the home or if they felt their concerns were not addressed. Staff were encouraged to use this as well as to share their thoughts and ideas more generally.

Leaders made reasonable adjustments for staff with protected characteristics to ensure they could continue to work within their abilities. There was a diverse cultural workforce, with many speaking additional languages to English. Staff were provided equal opportunities for career development and progression - this was actively encouraged my management.

The staffing structure was clear and the different roles were clearly defined.There was a clear pathway of seniority and differing levels of responsibility within them. Staff were encouraged to contribute to service delivery through daily handovers, regular team meetings and supervision sessions. Staff also indicated they felt able to contribute by less formal means. The manager of the home had good oversight through auditing activity including but not limited to; weekly cleaning records, medicine records, infection prevention and control, safeguarding and incident reporting. The home manager had regular contact with providers and reported to them regularly. Staff and the manager all reflected that they felt the provider acted with transparency and open communication. They felt the provider was present and accessible with understanding of activities at the home. External professionals further supported this and described communication and cross organisation working as good.

We did not look at Partnerships and communities during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

We did not look at Learning, improvement and innovation during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.