Blatchington Manor

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

Systems were in place to promote good practice and improvements within the service. There were some areas that needed to become more robust to ensure outcomes and actions were clearly documented. For example, the analysis of falls could be improved to further minimise this risk to people. The management team had already started work on this and the impact to people was positive. The manager had a good knowledge of their roles and responsibilities, duty of candour and had reported matters appropriately to both the local authority and CQC. Staff spoke positively about working at Blatchington Manor, they were proud to be part of the home. They told us that the management team were supportive, and they were given the opportunity to individually progress and contribute to the running of the service. There was a positive culture at the home.

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.

Staff shared positive feedback about Blatchington Manor and spoke confidently about the ethos and vision of the service. They clearly enjoyed working at the home and were very proud of the care they delivered. Staff told us, “[Manager] is approachable and listens to suggestions. They are a hands-on manager and will always help out. They come out on the floor and make sure we are ok, if we need any help.” Another staff member said, “We have a total commitment to being a home that provides good quality care. Values of the service is about continuity of care. I love working here, it’s such a good team, really supportive and caring”.

Processes were in place to promote a positive learning culture at the home and ensure staff and management had a shared direction. The management team spoke of their vision for the service and how they shared this with staff through supervisions and team meetings. Processes were in place to support staff to gain qualifications and extend their role, for example gaining a manager’s qualification in care. Senior care staff were supported to be become medicine givers and received support and training. The manager and staff received training in equality and diversity this had ensured that any inequalities were identified and immediately actioned. Staff felt that they could approach the management team if they had changes in their life that impacted on their current role, and they would be listened to and supported. Any risks to the service, interruption to normal service and delivering of care were discussed with staff and action plan put in place to ensure safe care delivery.

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 had recently left the service, but the deputy manager had been promoted to the interim role. There was additional support from the area manager and recruitment had begun for a new registered manager. The manager demonstrated a good understanding of the regulatory requirements. Staff understood their role and responsibilities. They all had job descriptions and received support from the management team to ensure they had the necessary training to do their role well. The manager was proud of the staff and of how the morale of staff had improved along with the training programme and that had improved care delivery. The manager monitored staff performance by three monthly supervisions and yearly appraisals. This was confirmed by the staff we spoke with. One staff member told us, “We all have job and role descriptions, and we discuss our career pathway at supervisions if we want to. We have to complete training, and this is checked monthly I believe, we get reminders if we fall behind. We have computer systems and passwords for all our care records. It’s a good way to work, nothing gets lost, and no one can pick up documents, so it protects our residents.”

Quality assurance systems were in place and were in the main being used effectively to consistently improve the service. However, there were areas that need to improve to ensure outcomes and actions were clearly documented. The management team were working to ensure there was oversight and effective governance at the service. There were computerised systems and processes to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service provided. This included health and safety, accidents, incidents, complaints, medication records and staff documentation. However, incidents, especially falls, were not always followed up with an action plan to prevent a re-occurrence. Staff though were knowledgeable and could tell us of safeguards put into place, such as low-level beds and sensor mats. Fluid and food charts were discussed with senior staff as there were inconsistencies in how staff recorded people's intake. This could mean that staff might miss a change in peoples' fluid and food intake. This was acknowledged during our feedback to the manager and steps taken to address this issue. The people at risk from dehydration were closely monitored. The management team understood their responsibilities around duty of candour. People and visitors told us they found the staff to be open and honest when things had gone wrong. Statutory notifications were submitted appropriately by the provider to CQC. The leadership team engaged with local partners to ensure that they were kept up to date on best practice. One health care professional said, “The manager and team are proactive in asking for support when needed in a timely manner.” This professional also told us that their team was positive about the service and had reported no concerns and it was a good service to work with.

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.