Gable Lodge

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 leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture. At our last inspection we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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 68 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider 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 understood the needs of people using the service. They made sure the care and support planned for people was person-centred, inclusive, fair and upheld their rights. A relative told us, “I go to lots of care homes…I go to ones that cost a lot. And I come here and my [family member] gets better care here…They could spend loads of money on making it look posh but it won’t change the quality of care people get here.” The registered manager had set expectations about the quality of care and support people should receive from the service. Staff were motivated and supported by the registered manager to provide high quality care and support to people. A staff member told us, “We give them the care and attention they need.”

The provider 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. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

The registered manager was experienced, knowledgeable and well regarded by people, relatives and staff. They worked directly with people, leading by example. People were happy to see the registered manager and comforted by their presence. One person told us, “Everything runs well and the manager is here all the time.” A relative said the registered manager was available to talk to, at any time, if they had any concerns or queries. A staff member told us, “[Registered manager] is here all the time and knows the people really well. She is always focussed on people and can tell if they are well or not happy. The residents always feel reassured when she is around so that tells you that they feel safe and happy with her.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

Systems were in place to support people, relatives and staff to speak up and share any concerns they had. People and staff were informed about how to report concerns and how these would be dealt. People and relatives were comfortable raising concerns with the registered manager and felt listened to. Staff were comfortable reporting concerns and felt their concerns would be acted on, promptly.

The provider 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 were well supported by the registered manager, who treated them equally and fairly. A staff member told us, “We are all treated the same.” The registered manager understood the importance of a fair and inclusive workplace for all staff. They told us, “I speak to staff on a one to one level and check for any problems. And I will solve this for them. I treat the staff the same.” Staff were provided relevant training to inform their knowledge and understanding of equality, inclusivity and fairness in the workplace.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and on the whole, sufficient governance. However, one aspect of the management of records required improvement.

The provider had made enough improvement to no longer be in breach of regulations. The service was now meeting current practice in relation to window restrictors, improving safety at the home for people. People’s care records were now up to date and contained information about their needs, risks to their safety and how these should be managed. The registered manager was using governance systems more effectively to check and audit the quality and safety of care and support provided to people. Some of the records relating to the management of the service were disorganised and at times hard to locate. We were able to obtain all the information we requested during our site visit and had no concerns about the information we reviewed. However, the registered manager acknowledged these records needed to be better organised. They told us they had plans in place to recruit a new staff member who would focus on administrative duties at the service which would help with better organisation of information and records.

The registered manager understood and demonstrated compliance with regulatory requirements. They also understood their responsibility to provide honest information, suitable support and to apply duty of candour where appropriate.

The provider understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

Systems were in place to obtain feedback about the service from people, relatives, staff and partners. The registered manager valued feedback and saw this as an opportunity to improve the service for people. The registered manager worked collaboratively with healthcare partners to share learning and experiences about the delivery of people’s care and support. Learning and recommendations from partners was shared with the staff team to help them improve their practice and deliver high quality care and support to people.

The provider was focussed on continuously improving the service. However they were not always proactive about encouraging creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people.

Learning from the last inspection of the service had been used to make improvements at the service. The registered manager recognised the importance of learning lessons and continuous improvement to ensure people received safe, high quality, care and support. However, they had not always considered best practice in creating a positive, stimulating environment for people living with dementia. For example, people’s bedroom doors and communal areas such as the lounge and hallways had been painted in similar colours, which might make it more difficult for people to orientate around the environment. Activities were undertaken by staff as part of their day to day duties. This meant these were done on an ad hoc basis rather than structured and focussed on people’s individual needs. We found people were not currently at risk at the service because staff were present to support people around the home and staff had time to do 1-2-1 activities with people during our visit. However, as people’s needs change the service may not be able to fully meet these in a meaningful way in the future. We discussed this with the registered manager who took on board our feedback and told us improvement plans for the service would focus on the needs of people living with dementia to create a supportive environment at the service. They told us they had plans in place to recruit a new staff member who would focus solely on the provision of activities for people at the service.