Valkyrie 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

Staff were aware of their roles and responsibilities and said they were listened to and supported in their roles. People and staff were positive about the management of the home. The provider had a range of audits in place; however, these were not always effective in identifying areas for improvement.

This service scored 64 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The registered manager and staff shared the same goal to provide positive outcomes for people. One member of staff said, “We want to make sure we meet all people’s care needs.”

Staff received training in equality and human rights and knew how to apply these. The registered manager held regular staff meetings to share the vision of the service and set the culture.

Staff told us the registered manager was visible at the service and had been working with them to embed improvements.

The registered manager had worked with the local authority quality team to identify where improvements needed to be made and had worked with them and the staff team to implement improvements. Staff had been given identifiable roles such as key workers and had responsibilities assigned to them. The registered manager had been working with an external consultant who had given them structure in the form of regular meetings to discuss best practice and how to embed this in the running of the service.

Staff told us they felt comfortable to speak up and found the registered manager approachable. Staff also told us they could go to external agencies if they had concerns about the registered manager.

The registered manager told us they had a ‘whistleblowing’ and safeguarding policy for staff to follow and discussed concerns in meetings

Staff told us they felt well supported at the service and were treated fairly by the registered manager and provider.

The registered manager had processes in place to ensure their recruitment practices were fair.

Staff told us they completed regular audits and checks at the service.

The registered manager had implemented a number of audits and checks at the service including environment audits and medicine audits. Staff had also implemented meetings with people to get their feedback. Although these systems were in place there was limited monitoring of how this information would be used to improve the service. For example, there were no actions recorded, timeframes for completion or recognition of themes being analysed and improved on. The registered manager had an emergency contingency plan in place but did not have clear guidance for staff to follow, or an emergency grab bag for staff to take should the service need to be evacuated. We recommend the registered manager reviews the information they obtain from audits, and how they use these to implement improvements at the service.

The registered manager has been working with the local authority and an external consultant to aid improvements at the service. This process is on-going and full engagement is required from the provider to ensure improvements are made. The registered manager has implemented recommendations from the fire inspections and is working to complete all the recommendations. The registered manager has developed good relationships with the local GP, district nurses and mental health professionals.

We recommend the registered manager needs to keep an improvement plan to show how they are working in partnership with others, with timeframes when this work will be completed by and how this will impact on people and the service.

The registered manager has sourced further training for staff through the local authority training providers and staff have had aspects of their training updated. Care plans have been updated to incorporate more user voice and to be person centred. Staff were able to discuss training needs and new ideas during supervision sessions and staff meetings.

The registered manager is in the process of sourcing an electronic care planning. This should help monitor outcomes for people and give a better oversight of the care people are receiving.