Gorton Mill House

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. This is the first assessment for this service. This key question has been rated good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 79 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service 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. Staff comments supported this shared vision. One said, “We get a chance speak with people and the work environment is good.” The service arranged social activities that were not part of their funded remit, for example weekly social bingo, as it had been recognised some people needed social interactions at the weekend. Professionals said they worked well with the service, with 1 saying, “They embrace joint working, and we regularly work together to achieve the best outcomes for the people we're supporting.”

The service 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. Staff were positive about working at Gorton Mill House commenting on the good atmosphere and team work. Staff said they felt supported in their role. The registered manager was visible on site and the scheme supervisor was available to support the staff team.

The service fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Relatives’ surveys were seen to be positive about the staff team and the support people received. However, some relatives we spoke with said that when they raised a concern the initial improvements were not always maintained. The registered manager said they would review the concerns raised by relatives. Staff said they were able to contribute to staff meetings and in their supervision meetings and felt listened to.

The service valued diversity in their workforce. They work towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who work for them. Staff said they were treated fairly, and everyone worked well together as a team. A member of staff told us, “I feel settled and happy working here and wouldn’t change my job.”

The service had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They act on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and share this securely with others when appropriate. Governance systems were in place to monitor the service. The registered manager had a team of people to support them, with quality officers and the scheme supervisor. All had clear roles in monitoring the service and reporting their findings to the registered manager. The Operations Manager held a monthly quality meeting to review all areas of the service.

The service understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services work seamlessly for people. They share information and learning with partners and collaborate for improvement. The service had developed a wellbeing hub which was open to the local community as well as people they supported. Staff had been trained to make key clinical observations which could be monitored over time to identify any changes which may need medical intervention. The service had also organised dementia awareness sessions and held coffee mornings for people living at the scheme and their relatives. One person said the dementia awareness session was, “Really interactive. I learnt many things I didn’t know about dementia.” The service was working with the local authority on becoming a ‘trusted assessor’ provider. This was a new proposal to review and update people’s support plans quickly when their needs changed.

The service 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 contribute to safe, effective practice and research. The management team worked well with the local authority quality teams. Recommendations from local authority visits and audits had been implemented. Regular meetings were held with managers of the provider’s other services to share information and good practice.