Rivers Reach

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 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. The registered manager told us, “We remind staff what we are working towards. We are constantly empowering the people we support to be safe and healthy whilst promoting their independence. We support them to make their own choices, and we offer them a balance to help them to keep safe or healthy. We work together as a team and work with outside agencies.” The registered manager also told us how they monitor and assess the culture of the home to ensure a closed culture does not develop.

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. There were mixed reviews around communication. The provider was working with the registered manager to improve this. The registered manager told us they were supported by the provider’s management team who were available to them whenever it was needed. Staff had access to training to help them develop further in their roles and this had led to staff progressing within the organisation. One staff member said, “I have worked in care for 10 years. There are so many staff members here with so much experience and it is nice that you can rely on each other.”

The service fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Staff had access to regular supervision and support from leaders, promoting staff empowerment and involvement in the service. Staff members told us the registered manager had an open door policy and there were equal opportunities for all. People living in the home were asked for their views in a variety of formats. We reviewed people’s daily notes which evidenced their choices, input, and involvement throughout their days. We reviewed evidence of people being supported to develop new skills. People’s support was regularly reviewed, and their families were involved in this process. The provider also sent out satisfaction surveys. Action plans were devised from these meetings and survey’s and were shared with people. This meant people’s views were listened to and drove improvement.

The service 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 felt supported to give feedback and were treated equally, free from bullying or harassment. People with protected characteristics felt supported and shared with us examples of this.

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. The management team were visible, knowledgeable, and supportive, helping staff develop in their roles. The home had clear arrangements for accountability and improvement using a range of audits to monitor quality and identify areas that could be improved. The registered manager was able to confidently tell us how they ensured safe record keeping by following the principles of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

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. Relatives, staff, and the registered manager shared with us positive examples of collaborative working in partnership. One professional told us, “The staff engage well with our telephone and face to face reviews and in my experience are well informed around the residents and any concerns raised. In recent months I have observed new residents arrive at Rivers Reach and others move on to next placements. Movement in and out of the facility appears well planned and those that move on to more independent living is a reflection of the success Rivers Reach achieves to support residents to grow and develop. Staff have recently supported a resident to move into their own flat with care, this transition appears to have been well thought out; Rivers Reach staff have supported closely, and ongoing care concerns have been safely handed over to ensure needs continue to be met.”

The service strived to focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. The service was slow in making improvements following a fire service audit and the provider acted immediately to address this following our feedback. Leaders were passionate about wanting to learn and improve to ensure people were leading their best lives. The provider shared with us, several transition stories of people who had moved into the home, and with the support of the dedicated staff team, had become more settled in themselves and learnt new skills enabling them to move onto other environments with less support.