Hill Lodge

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. At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained 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 71 (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 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. All staff worked in collaboration to ensure a quality service for the people. There was an open-door policy, and staff had the opportunity to take part in the running of the service by contributing to one to one and team meetings. Staff knew the providers values and how these applied to their role. One staff member said, “To provide a safe and comfortable environment for people to live in. To promote their individual independence and well-being. To give them freedom of choice and inclusion, to see family and friends, become active members of their local community. To provide a service which is paramount to each individual in achieving their life’s goals.” Another staff member said, “My role is to ensure these values are implemented in everyday practices by leading the team to provide respectful, compassionate care, and making sure all residents are treated with dignity and have equal opportunities.”

The provider 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 told us they were supported to work in leadership roles and had been provided with the appropriate training to do so. We received feedback from staff who said all the leaders were approachable and supportive. Comments from staff included, “[The registered manager] will walk round to each building when they arrive at work to meet staff and the people, we support to check everything is fine”, “[registered manager] is positive and supportive” and, “[registered manager] is fun to work with. It's the little things like being thanked for doing extra hours. It meant I knew I was appreciated; this meant a lot.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Systems were in place to ensure people, staff and visitors could share their views. Ways to speak to the registered manager were displays for everyone to see and staff were aware of the whistleblowing policy. Staff told us, “[Registered manager] is approachable and always listens to our concerns”, “[Registered manager is a strong voice for the people we support and will keep fighting till things are done and to a good standard.”

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them. Staff were treated fairly. Manager’s identified when staff needed additional support and responded flexibly.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. Most information around risk had been acted upon in a timely manner. However, the provider had not always taken appropriate action when staff reported maintenance concerns and governance systems had not identified this. The provider and registered manager completed a range of audits to monitor the quality of the service. When areas of improvement were identified, actions had been taken to improve. For example, when people showed an increase in their agitation managers had considered reasons for this and whether additional support was needed.

The provider understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement. Managers had worked with people, their representatives and staff to build a culture that focused on enabling people to enjoy their lives. There was regular engagement with people and their families, and the service worked hard to create communities within the homes they lived in. For example, the provider held an annual sports day with all their homes. This event invited people, their loved ones and staff to a day of sports that were adapted to suit the needs of people using services.

The provider 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 contributed to safe, effective practice and research. The registered manager was open and responsive to our findings during our assessment and acted immediately on any areas of improvements we identified. They were passionate about providing person centred care to the people living in the home and had plans to improve people’s experiences further by exploring different projects including community gardening. Quality assurances surveys had been conducted with people, relatives and staff, this included feedback on what was working well and what could be improved. The results of the survey informed actions for improvements which included, improved ways people could feedback the changes they would like to see in their living areas, ensuring staff are trained to provide nutritional meals and opportunities for staff to complete training during working hours.