Blackburn (Florence House)

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• 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. For this key question we assessed the quality statements relating to; capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders, governance, management and sustainability and learning, improvement and innovation. There was a new registered manager in post and support was ongoing from the senior team. There was a commitment to continue to make improvements in the service. We received positive feedback from professionals about the changes in the service. Staff were mostly positive about the management and the support they provided. One said, “It is really well organised everyone pulls their weight and we work together.” Audits and monitoring were undertaken and an action plan was ongoing to support improvements in the service. Notifications were being submitted to the Care Quality Commission as required.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We did not look at Shared direction and culture during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

Changes had been made to the management prior to the assessment. There was a new registered manager in post who was committed to making improvements Senior staff was visible during the assessment and supported the staff team and management. The registered manager understood the needs of the service and the improvements that needed to be made as well as working with relevant professionals to support improvements. Most of the staff team provided positive feedback about the registered manager and the changes that had been made. They told us, “The manager is lovely. We have been through a change. Things are settling now”, “The new manager is making progress and improvement in the home” and. However, one person told us the management did not always respond when they raised concerns.

A range of audits and checks demonstrated the management team monitored the service and had plans in place to support improvements. Professionals told us about improvements in the service following the changes in the management. They said, “The atmosphere and responsiveness of [people] is much more positive and they are engaging in activities once again.” Daily records were completed for handovers to the staff team. These included the daily responsibilities of the staff team.

We did not look at Freedom to speak up during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

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.

The registered manager and senior support manager demonstrated their understanding about the monitoring of the service and areas for improvement. Staff told us the management team were visible in the service and checks were undertaken. They said, “[Senior manager] comes in a lot” and, “Regular checks are undertaken.”

A range of audits was being undertaken which included the findings from these. An action plan had been developed by the provider and work was ongoing with the management team to take action to address any actions required, to drive improvements in the service. The provider ensured statutory notifications were submitted to the Care Quality Commission in line with their responsibilities and relevant partner agencies were being informed of incidents or concerns where this was required. There was a business continuity plan and servicing and checks were ongoing. A daily shift planner and handover record included allocation of daily tasks to be completed by the staff team. Duty rotas were being completed, there was a pool of bank staff to use to ensure sufficient appropriately skilled staff were in place, Agency profiles were in place. There was a consistent staff team used in the event of gaps in the duty rota. A programme of team meetings was planned and minutes from previous meetings were seen, including a range of topics and input from the staff.

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

Staff confirmed that the service was focusing on learning and improvement. A staff member told us, “The new manager is making progress and improvements in the home”. Throughout the assessment, the manager spoke about ongoing improvements.

The provider had implemented an electronic system to monitor the quality of the service, promote improvements and support care planning and assessments. Training of the staff team was taking place. A copy of the training matrix was noted. A programme of team meetings was planned and minutes from previous meetings were seen including a range of topics and input from the staff. The provider had implemented an electronic system to monitor the quality of the service, promote improvements and support care planning and assessments.