The Grange Retirement 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 had made improvements and are no longer in breach of the regulations. The provider had improved their quality monitoring systems to help them identify any shortfalls in the management of people’s care and the running of the service. There was a positive and open culture. The provider used feedback from people, staff and other professionals to drive improvement. Staff praised the managers and told us they were approachable and listened to their views. Staff were open and honest with people and their relatives when people when things went wrong. Staff were encouraged to reflect and consider any learnings after any incidents to help prevent further incidents. The equality and diversity of people and staff was respected and promoted.

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.

Staff enjoyed working at the service. They understood the provider’s visions and values. Staff told us they found the management team supportive and helpful. One member of staff told us. “We can speak to the managers whenever we want, they always listen to us. We all want to give the best care we can, like a big family.”

There were regular meetings with staff and opportunities for staff to speak with the management team and share their views. There were a range of policies and procedures, and staff were familiar with these. Management was positive and had a clear comprehensive plan in respect the delivery of the service’s culture, vision and direction.

Staff and leaders demonstrated a positive, compassionate, listening culture that promoted trust and understanding between them and people using the service. Staff commented they had a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Staff told us the care of people living at the service was the most important aspect of their work and they strived to ensure that people received high quality care. Staff explained they felt supported and motivated by the leadership at the service. One member of staff told us, “Managers are very supportive and approachable, they have an open door policy. One carer has been supported to become a nurse, we are encouraged to do well.” Staff told us they felt the service was well-run and they had built good relationships with leaders.

There were systems in place to support staff and create positive morale and culture. Systems included one to one meetings with all staff, holding group meetings with staff to gather feedback from them to continually improve the service and their experience of working there.

Staff were encouraged to raise concerns and were confident their voices were heard. Staff told us that regular team meetings took place and action was taken in response to any issues raised. A member of staff told us, “We are encouraged to speak. The managers want to know if we are worried about anything.” When asked how the service is monitored for closed cultures, managers advised that unannounced spot checks took place both day and night. They added, oversight was good due to management being visible and working alongside staff at the service.

Staff and leaders were prompted to act with openness, honesty and transparency. The provider had a whistleblowing policy, and posters explaining what to look out for and how to raise concerns were prominently displayed in the reception area. Staff were prompted to raise concerns during team meetings and the provider sought their views via surveys.

Staff told us they felt they were treated fairly, and that morale was good. A member of staff told us, “We are a diverse team of many different cultures, but the team is really good and we support each other.” Managers told us they ensured staff received fair and equitable treatment by being approachable to staff and offering support, especially those facing difficulties either at home or at work.

The provider took steps to remove bias from practices to ensure equality of opportunity and experience for their workforce. Flexible working and equal opportunities policies ensured the service took staff’s employment rights into account. The provider had policies and processes in place to protect and promote the rights of the whole staff team and valued a diverse workforce. They aimed to continually improve working conditions for their employees and discrimination, or inequality was not tolerated.

Managers explained to us the improvements they had made since the previous inspection, including developing and implementing new systems of governance and quality monitoring. Staff also told us they had made improvements to the service based on their own quality monitoring, information from others and researching best practice.

There were effective systems for monitoring and improving the quality of the service. These included a range of audits and checks. The provider had created and followed action plans, working with others when needed, when areas for improvement were identified. People using the service and other stakeholders were able to share their views on the service through meetings, surveys and informal information sharing. Records were clear and well maintained. Policy and procedure documentation was relevant, up to date and accessible.

People's relatives were positive about the communication from the home and felt there was a professional but friendly working relationship between them and the staff and managers. Relatives told us they received regular contact from the service keeping them updated. One relative told us, “They always contact me if anything changes, or anything happens that I need to know about.” Another relative added, “The activities lady is lovely, she gets [my relative] out of her room and she now enjoys company of the others.”

Staff spoke positively about people and enjoyed engaging and greeting with people when they came on shift. They worked in partnership with people and involved them in the planning of activities. Staff supported people to attend external trips, for example to the museum and events in the local area. Staff told us about networking with the community to improve and grow local community relationships, such as visits from children from the local primary school. Additionally, local groups such as the Brownies and local churches visited the service.

Healthcare professionals spoke positively about the care being provided at The Grange Retirement Home. They told us staff were engaging and responsive to their recommendations. A healthcare professional told us, ‘We are in regular contact, and they seem to have taken on board everything discussed with them. The change in management seems to have made a huge difference. We do believe they are providing good care to the patients. Communication has improved a lot, and our doctors feel that any advice given is acted upon.’

We saw examples of working openly and in partnership with key organisations and professionals, to support people's care provision and to develop the service such as working with the local GP and pharmacy. The provider valued people's feedback and worked inclusively with local communities and organisations.

Staff told us they felt they were involved in learning and improving the service. They told us there were systems for gathering the views of stakeholders to help them learn and make improvements. Staff enjoyed the training they were given and were keen to learn more. They applied their learning to their practice and supported colleagues.

The provider promoted continual learning and reflective practice. They provided a variety of training, some online and some face to face. Staff received training not only relevant to their own roles, but relevant to the needs of people living in the service to ensure all staff had a good awareness. Managers were open to suggestions from people, relatives, staff and external professionals and considered how this would benefit the quality of care and outcomes for people. They kept themselves up to date with current best practice and shared their experience and knowledge with the staff team.