Chelmsford Care Centre Ltd

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

We reviewed 6 quality statements under this key question; shared direction and culture; capable, compassionate, and inclusive leaders; freedom to speak up; workforce equality; diversity and inclusion; governance, management, sustainability, partnerships, and communities. We identified 1 breach of legal regulation in relation to good governance. We were not assured the provider had effective monitoring and oversight of people's care records and risk management and some areas required further development to ensure effective governance systems and processes were in place. Staff were clear about their responsibilities and roles and felt supported by the registered manager and senior management team. Staff spoke positively about the leadership and culture of the service and felt valued in their roles. The registered manager and senior team were available and approachable to staff, people and their relatives. The service worked collaboratively with a range of external healthcare professionals to ensure people received appropriate support when required.

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.

Staff and leaders spoke positively about the culture of the service. They told us, “The management are approachable and readily available by phone, even during my night shifts. There have been instances when management has come in at night to provide support when I faced an issue. We hold monthly meetings, or more frequently when necessary, and I receive regular supervision along with an annual appraisal” and “At Chelmsford Care Centre we uphold and demonstrate the ethos of our company's culture and value of transparency, accountability, integrity and we act inclusively where everyone is valued regardless of your designations. We are proud of what we do, and we are always ready to share knowledge at all times with our colleagues.”

Staff and leaders demonstrated a positive, compassionate, listening culture which promoted trust and understanding between them and people using the service, focused on learning and improvement. Systems and process were in place to share information with staff. Daily, weekly and monthly meetings were held to share information about people using the service. Staff had the opportunity to attend staff meetings or share information in their 1:1 supervision. The registered manager told us they had an open-door policy and were available should any member of staff need to speak to them.

The registered manager told us, “We have changed over to new systems. With our training, we now offer a companywide induction for staff which consists of a full 2 weeks of induction, including face to face training. We have a high retention of staff which is an achievement. I am a visible manager around the service, I have an open-door policy, and relatives still want to come back and be part of the home.” Staff comments included, “I feel supported by management, as issues discussed in meetings are taken seriously, and appropriate assistance is provided as needed,” and “The managers are very supportive, the manager comes round, and they will show staff what they want and demonstrate this to us.”

The registered manager told us they were well supported by the provider and their operations manager who is based at the service 2-3 days per week. Meetings were held monthly with other registered managers for peer support. The registered manager also had the opportunity to visit the provider’s other services. The registered manager told us of the staff incentives offered. For example, ‘Refer a friend scheme,’ ‘employee of the month’, staff received a paid day off to celebrate their birthday and an employee assistance programme to support staff whether it be financial, bereavement and wellbeing support.

Staff told us of ‘Freedom to speak up’ guardians within the organisation. Comments included, “I would be happy to raise anything. This organisation encourages us to speak up and raise concerns. Head office will come here, and they ask us if there is anything about which we are worried. We have a staff member that represents us” and “I am confident in speaking out. [Name of staff member] is our freedom to speak up guardian.”

The registered manager and senior team sought feedback from staff in numerous ways including staff meetings, staff surveys; and 1:1 supervision and walkarounds speaking with staff. Staff surveys had recently been sent out and the registered manager was in the process of obtaining the results and collating the feedback. The results of the survey would be used to improve the quality of the service for people and staff. The organisation’s ethos was to ‘achieve a culture of candour’ and had freedom to speak up guardians whom staff could contact in the event of them not feeling able to speak to a member of their own management team.

Staff received training in equality and diversity, and regular team meetings were held to promote staff inclusion. Staff told us, “Our home is diverse, and we celebrate various cultures within the community. I feel content here, and the culture promotes inclusivity, leaving no room for bullying or discrimination” and “At Chelmsford Care Centre, we are well cultured, giving respect to our service users and the relatives as well as staff. We have a large workforce, and we all work effortlessly in making our environment lovable, liveable and friendly. Each of the staff see himself/herself as a major stakeholder. We carry out our daily activities with happiness and love for the people we care for.”

The provider had arrangements in place to support staff flexibly with their individual needs. This was through supervision, staff meetings and the provider’s policies and procedures.

We received positive feedback from staff on the support they received from the management team and colleagues. Comments included, “I feel really supported. Both the deputy and registered manager are incredible managers. They have their door open 24/7. They ask the question what we can change, how can we fix this.” “The managers have open arms to us; they try to accommodate us and even owner / directors are friendly. We want to keep improving every day” and “I feel valued by the senior team as they allow me to air my views and respect these. They respond to my concern if I raise any, and they do the same to other staff members. We boost each other's morale by staying happy and keeping people happy and safe.”

The provider had systems and processes in place to monitor the effectiveness of the service and completed a regular schedule of audits. However improvements were needed to ensure a more robust oversight in relation to people’s care monitoring records, risk management plans and personal evacuation plans as highlighted in the Safe section of this report. The provider was aware of the regulatory requirements and made statutory notifications to relevant agencies when required to do so. There was a system to manage incidents and learn from them to improve practice.

People and relatives told us they had access to and received appropriate health care treatment when required. A relative told us, “I like [person] can get help if needed, with their eating, they (staff) knew [person] had trouble swallowing and were proactive in getting people in to help them.”

The operations manager told us how the service was continuing to build community links with the local church, schools and clubs. This meant people had the opportunity to access and feel part of the wider community. The service circulated their newsletters to relatives and external organisations to keep people up to date with events taking place at Chelmsford Care Centre.

Feedback from a healthcare professional was complimentary with regards to the feedback they received from families. They told us, “Families of our patients discharged to Chelmsford Care Centre have always provided our team with positive feedback on the transfers and the care given at the facility.”

The staff team were committed to build and maintain positive relationships with other organisations and the local community to improve outcomes for people. Staff and leaders worked in partnership with key organisations to support care provision, service development and joined-up care such as GP, speech and language therapists (SALT), Physiotherapists and hospital discharge teams.

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.