Heffle Court

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 provider and registered manager had good oversight of the service and completed regular quality assurance checks. There was an open culture which focused on learning from any incidents that occurred. Staff had been given the opportunity to provide feedback and management were acting on this. The service worked well with external professionals. The registered manager and staff team were aware of their roles and responsibilities. There was an ethos of wanting to consistently drive improvement within the organisation.

This service scored 64 (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 clear vision on the culture they aim to achieve at Heffle Court. Staff were provided with clear guidance around what they can expect and what is expected of them. There was an open and transparent culture at the service. A colleague handbook is shared with staff to promote this culture and drive positive practice in the home to effectively meet people's needs.

Staff told us they felt able to speak to management and one told us that she had shared an idea to change how the communal lounge was used and this had been listened to by the registered manager and implemented. Staff had also been asked to complete a staff survey and results had just been collated and actions identified. Following this, the provider arranged for priority listening sessions to be implemented for staff. This allows another opportunity to speak up should they have any concerns.

We did not look at Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

We did not look at Freedom to speak up during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

We did not look at Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

Good governance systems and processes were in place to monitor the day to day care delivery and the environment. Areas such as medicines, cleanliness and falls, were reviewed on a regular basis to drive improvement, development and encourage lessons learned.

There was a comprehensive programme of auditing, which was overseen by the head office. The service had a quality support person who visited regularly to oversee clinical audits and other areas of governance. Staff demonstrated a clear knowledge of who to approach should they have any concerns.

The home collaborated and worked well with other agencies, there was systems in place to learn and share information to continually improve the service. Appropriate referrals had been made to external agencies such as speech and language therapy, tissue viability nurses and GPs. The local authority spoke positively about the relationship they have with Heffle Court and how matters were referred to them as appropriate.

The provider had robust processes in place to share learning across the wider group and not just within Heffle Court. For example, if an incident occurred at another location of the provider's any learning from this would be shared to drive improvements in all care homes under Aria Healthcare Group. They also worked closely with local stakeholders to ensure people received good quality care.

Staff demonstrated a good knowledge of when additional support may be required for a person and how to obtain this. They spoke of confidence in reporting matters to the management team and action been taken to resolve any concern. They worked well with external professionals to achieve the best outcomes for people.

People and their relatives told us that they were supported to access additional help from external agencies when needed. For example, staff would contact a GP if a person became unwell and needed to be assessed. People who wanted to were supported to engage in the local community and were encouraged to maintain meaningful relationships with those who were important to them.

The provider had a robust process to review and evaluate any accident and incidents which occurred at the service. This enabled learning points to be formed and conveyed to staff to drive improvement in the service. Any learning in other services under the same provider group was also shared to create continued learning across the whole company.

Feedback from staff was sought, a well-being audit had been completed, this included areas including staff receiving training, sharing ideas and good practice. Lessons learned meetings took place after incidents or near misses. Learning was shared and the service worked and collaborated with other agencies to improve care and to support provided to people.