Pratt 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

Pratt House was led by an experienced manager who had developed the staff team to carry out their roles effectively to benefit people. Systems were in place to get feedback on the care provided and raise concerns to promote a positive culture within the service. Good governance was established to enable them to continuously assess and monitor the quality of the care provided. People and relatives were complimentary of the registered manager. They commented, “I would describe the management team as competent, welcoming, and very understanding,” “The management team is quite joined up and know the residents well. I find them straight forward to deal with and they know how to deal with any situation very well. It’s a nice size home with plenty of activities for the residents,” “The management seems excellent. The registered manager is on the ball and switched on. The manager is very professional,” and "The manager is approachable and there are no problems in communication.”

This service scored 68 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff told us the registered manager created an open culture for them to share their views. We observed the providers vision and values were clearly displayed in the home.

The registered manager was suitably trained, skilled and experienced in their role. They were clear of the aims of the objectives for the service, which was to provide good quality care to people. They were responsive to feedback from their line manager, staff, people, and relatives. Records relating to the care of people and records relating to the running of the service showed concerns brought to their attention was dealt with in a timely manner. The registered manager worked to the duty of candour regulation and acted in an open and transparent way with people receiving care or treatment, their relatives, and staff. Staff were trained in equality and diversity with systems in place to monitor that people and staff were treated, equally and fairly to promote a positive culture.

Systems were in place to promote effective communication with the team. A range of meetings took place which included handover meetings between shifts and a daily meeting to update all heads of departments on plans for the day. Alongside this team meetings and clinical review meetings took place. A practical workshop session took place with carers to promote more engagement with people at mealtimes and WhatsApp was used to inform the team of key information they needed to be aware. These practices promoted an inclusive management style which led to improvements identified from in house and providers audits which benefited people.

Staff told us the service was “very well managed” and they were “well supported” by the registered manager.

Systems were in place to enable people, relatives, and staff to speak up. Resident and relative meetings took place quarterly with visual displays on notice boards to inform people and their relatives how to raise concerns and make suggestions for improvements. “You said we did” display boards demonstrated the service acted on people and staff’s feedback. The provider carried out annual surveys of people, relative’s, staff and professionals, with action taken to address the areas for improvement identified through the surveys. Regular team meetings took place and staff were provided with one-to-one supervision meetings. This provided staff with opportunities to speak up. The providers whistle blowing policy further promoted freedom to speak up guidance for staff.

Staff had access to management on a daily basis. One member of staff told us, “All heads of department are approachable and we know how to contact head office staff if required.”

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.

Staff were involved in supporting the registered manager and deputy manager monitor risks to people. Each day staff were asked to give feedback to the registered manager. Staff told us they would not hesitate to raise any concerns to the registered manager and told us they felt action would be taken. Staff told us care plans and risk assessments were updated to reflect people’s needs.

Systems were in place to promote good governance. A series of regular audits of practice took place. These included daily walks around as well as audits of medicines, health and safety, infection control, care plans, dining room experience, staff files and night time audits. Alongside, this the provider carried out audits which enabled them to assess the quality of care. We saw these audits included the service's compliance with requirements identified as needing improvement at our previous inspection. A service improvement plan was in place to address any shortfalls identified by audits. These were kept under review and signed off when completed, which promoted good quality sustainable care, treatment, and support provided to people.

The service worked closely with other health professionals to promote joined up safe care. People were encouraged to access the community and the service used volunteers and faciliated visits from local school children to promote community links.

The registered manager told us there had been some recent changes to how people were supported to access the local community. We observed there was lots of positive feedback from local groups. There was a dedicated community display board, with useful links and information on. This included information about talking therapies as an example.

Health professional involved with the service told us the registered manager and staff team worked well with them. They commented, “The residents are happy on my visit and never show any concerns. The staff are helpful, and considerate to residents and I have a good working relationship with the [manager’s name]” and “I feel I have a very good working relationship with [manager’s name] and her staff. We work together to understand the patients’ needs based on their often complex medical history and multiple health conditions.”

People told us they would like to have greater access to the local community. However, when we spoke with the registered manager about this, they were able to provide us with many examples of opportunities people had. People were involved in the local community; the home was open to visits from local social and support groups.

We did not look at Learning, improvement and innovation during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.