Priory Hospital Arnold

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

Managers implemented action plans, strategies and processes which had worked well and improved the overall governance of the service. They had recognised where improvements had been required from the last inspection and but appropriate actions and support in place. Managers were open, honest, and encouraged both staff and patients to provide feedback on the service. We found the provider had implemented processes which were evidence based and measurable with outcomes being used to further improve the service and what it offered. The provider worked well with external partners also involved in the patients care. Appropriate governance processes were in place to ensure managers had oversight of the service. Where required lessons had been learned and communicated from incidents, which were used to drive improvement and innovation. Staff were supported well with numerous well-being resources available to them, enabling staff to perform their roles to the best of their ability which enhanced the care and support given to patients.

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.

Leaders told us they promoted a positive work culture and a diverse workforce. They were open and inclusive and very often mixed the staff skill set to help develop staff skills. Leaders had regular meetings with staff and through being open, transparent, offered the correct training and support to empower staff be part of the shared direction and open culture of the organisation.

Managers completed annual colleague engagement surveys to gather feedback from staff and subsequently implemented action plans clearly showing areas they were going to prioritize as an organisation. The action plan clearly showed who was responsible for completing the actions and what a success profile would look like. 85% of staff stated their work gave them a sense of accomplishment and 85% felt the service they worked at was well managed.

Leaders communicated with staff teams to maintain an understanding of the service and current patient needs. Leaders gave direction and encouragement to staff and were inclusive and supportive of staff feedback. Leaders told us they supported and encouraged staff deliver care of a high standard daily. They believed in staff development and giving staff the opportunity to progress.

The recent staff survey showed 88% of staff knew that if they needed support with physical and mental health they would know where to find the resource. 92% also said they had opportunities to discuss development with their line manager.

Leaders said they had an open culture, free from blame and actively encouraged and supported staff give feedback on the service, through management or the Freedom To Speak Up Guardian. Managers told us raising issues or concerns enabled the organisation to drive for consistent improvement. Leaders wanted staff to feel comfortable and confident with the organisations vision, to take ownership and feel involved.

Priory Arnold had a whistleblowing (protected disclosure) policy and procedure in place. The policy guided staff on how raise concerns and encouraged staff to feel confident in raising concerns and to question and act upon concerns about practice. It gave staff information on who they could raise concerns to including senior leaders and relevant bodies including the Care Quality Commission. Staff had access to a freedom to speak up guardian to whom they could raise concerns to. There was a clear process in place which allowed the freedom to speak up guardian to escalate concerns to trust management at a board level. No concerns had been raised with the freedom to speak up guarding between January 2024 and March 2024.

Managers told us they had a diverse staff compliment and were inclusive regardless of opinion, ethnicity, and culture. Managers had the support of an accessible human resources department team and staff could access a Freedom To Speak Up Guardian. Managers were supported to made reasonable adjustments for new and pre exiting issues/conditions where possible to ensure all staff felt safe at work. Managers facilitated flexible working patterns for staff where possible and had access to an occupational health team for additional support.

Managers followed a detailed safer recruitment and selection policy in place that had last been reviewed in December 2023. The policy stated the organisation was committed to open and diverse recruitment with equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of all recruitment processes and decisions.

Managers and staff attended governance meetings to maintain transparency. Key performance indicators and monthly audit processes were in place to help give oversight of the service to managers. Managers had clear expectations of what care and support the service aimed to provide. They told us of processes in place to ensure they had oversight of the service. Robust processes were in place to safely manage sensitive data which allowed them to maintain people’s privacy, dignity and confidentiality.

Managers had a risk register in place this had been updated as incidents were reported. The risk register had 12 items on it, clearly stating what the risk was, when and how it was raised and what mitigation had been put in place to help reduce the risk. Managers had monthly clinical governance committee meetings. Various aspects of Priory Arnold were discussed at this meeting including patient complaints, advocacy feedback, incidents, staffing and safeguarding. Each area was discussed in detail and where required appropriate actions were out in place, which were then reviewed at the next meeting.

Patients told us family members and external teams were involved in their care and treatment when they had consented to this.

Managers understood the importance of positive working relationships with external partners. They worked closely with two NHS trusts as these commissioned many beds at the hospital. Managers told us it was extremely important to maintain these relationships as it enhanced the service provision and maintained continuity for the patient. Managers and staff told us they had good working relationships with the police, local authority, integrated care board (ICB), local safeguarding team, community mental health services and the wider local community. They had collaborative meetings with partners and the wider community, the meetings enabled the provider, partners, and the wider community to share good practice and learn lessons together.

Partners told us the service involved various community teams including housing teams and community mental health teams when preparing and planning patient discharge.

The service had processes including the care program approach meetings, discharge meetings and ward rounds to ensure all relevant partners were involved in patient care.

Managers told us they had recently experienced a positive change in culture, following the last CQC inspection report due to the efforts of the leadership team and the staff teams at the service. Managers told us they completed feedback to all staff on progress made following the last CQC report and welcomed feedback from all staff to help with continuous improvement. Managers referenced the internal provider quality improvement auditing program in place. Regular staff meetings and de-briefs were in place to discuss incidents and the lessons learnt. Managers acknowledged the importance of celebrating good practice. There were now ward champions in place and as an organisation they valued both their input and opinion.

Managers had a research and clinical effectiveness enabling strategy in place. This strategy had 67 goals including delivering evidence based clinical pathways and to provide outstanding career development and learning opportunities. One of the strategic objectives of the provider quality enabling strategy included the creation of an annual cycle of quality planning.