Morton Gardens 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

The service was managed well. Staff and managers understood their role and responsibility to deliver the provider’s vision of people receiving high quality care. Staff were well supported by managers, who were knowledgeable, experienced and respected by people, staff and partners that worked with the service. There was a culture of openness and honesty and people, staff and others could raise concerns without fear of what might happen. Staff were provided fair and equal opportunity at work and were valued and respected by managers. The service worked proactively with partners which led to people experiencing positive outcomes. Managers sought feedback from people, staff and others about how the service could be improved. Managers used their feedback, and other learning, to make improvements to the service that people required. Governance systems had been improved to incorporate more robust checks of people’s care records and managers undertook a range of checks and audits to check the safety and quality of the service and care and support provided to people. However, checks of the service had not found that the service’s recruitment process was not always being followed to ensure these remained safe. The provider took action after our site visit to make the necessary improvement required to make sure there was regular and effective oversight of recruitment practice at the service.

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 understood the vision and values of the service and how their roles helped them to achieve these. Staff told us they were focussed on people receiving high quality care and support to meet their needs. Managers supported staff to do this. A staff member told us, “The manager talks to me and speaks to me. I find it helpful as it encourages me and motivates me.” The registered manager said, “We observe [staff] as a team and how they deliver care. We get feedback from visitors about their experiences of the staff team and how they have been treated. We use supervision and team meetings to talk to staff about what we expect from them. We talk to staff about making sure people have a choice about how they have their care provided. When we do the induction with staff we set expectations with staff about what we expect from them. In supervision we talk about how staff perform and how this is helping people.”

Managers made sure staff were focussed on the vision and values of the service. Staff supervision and team meetings were used to discuss how staff were achieving these aims through their role. Managers used audits and spot checks to observe staff practice and make sure that staff were focussed on delivering high quality care and support to people which met their needs. The service set out their vision and values in their statement of purpose and in the service user guide. These had been shared with people and their relatives which ensured the service was accountable and responsible to them, for delivering these stated aims.

Managers had a clear understanding of the priorities for the service and how these would be achieved. They sought guidance and support from local networks to improve their knowledge and practice in relation to how the service was delivered. Managers undertook regular and relevant training to ensure they were up to date with current practice. Managers undertook daily checks of staff practices and handovers and used their observations from these to encourage and support staff to learn and improve in their role. This meant any poor practice seen could be dealt with quickly.

The service was managed well by managers who were knowledgeable, experienced and well-liked by people, relatives and staff. A staff member told us, “They are there for us anytime we need them. They are very supportive.” Another staff member said, “I can speak to them anytime. They are here every day so I am always speaking to them and working alongside them as well.”

Managers encouraged a culture of openness and honesty at the service and supported staff to act with integrity when supporting people using the service. Staff told us they felt comfortable raising any concerns they had and managers would listen to them and act on these in an appropriate way. A staff member told us, “[I have] no worries about telling the manager if something wasn’t right. It’s an open workplace. The registered manager said, “We encourage staff to report to us, any concerns. The staff can approach me anytime and can speak in confidence. I don’t think the staff are afraid of me at all. They see me as a friend.”

Systems were in place which encouraged staff to speak up and share concerns they had about the workplace. Staff were provided with the service’s safeguarding and whistleblowing policies which informed them about their responsibility to share and report concerns and how these would be dealt with by the service. Managers used supervision and team meetings to discuss any concerns staff may have and staff were encouraged to speak freely at these without fear of what might happen.

The service had clearly stated aims and objectives for promoting a workplace that was fair and inclusive. The service had an equal opportunity policy which set out the provider’s commitment to ensuring no staff member would be discriminated against due to their protected characteristics. Staff had clearly stated responsibilities for promoting a fair and inclusive workplace set out in this policy. The service also had a staff grievance and disciplinary action policy. This set out the provider’s zero tolerance stance on harassment in the workplace and how any concerns would be dealt with. Staff were provided additional support through relevant equalities training to inform their knowledge and understanding of inclusivity and fairness in the workplace.

Managers valued staff and promoted a workplace that was inclusive and fair. Staff told us they were treated fairly and equally by managers and had the same opportunities and support to achieve their work goals and objectives. The registered manager said, “We use staff surveys and we ask staff about their experiences and we review this to see how staff are feeling and if they are experiencing any issues in the workplace. We give staff equal opportunity to take up extra hours and make sure this is shared fairly across the staff team.”

The service had systems in place to check and audit the quality and safety of the care and support provided to people. Issues identified through these checks were acted on and used to support staff to improve their working practices. However, these systems had not been entirely effective. This is because we found an issue with current recruitment practices that managers had not identified though their own checks. The registered manager took action immediately after our site visit to address the issue and provided assurances that quality checks would focus on recruitment practices to make sure this issue did not occur again. The registered manager understood their responsibility to provide honest information and suitable support and to apply duty of candour where appropriate. They also understood and demonstrated compliance with regulatory requirements.

Staff understood their roles and responsibilities and were supported to do so by managers. Staff told they were encouraged by managers to deliver high quality care to people. A staff member told us, “They give us feedback about our role and it motivates us to do better. They do spot checks on us.” Managers used their governance systems to manage the actions, behaviours and performance of staff. The registered manager told us, “I come here every day and observe the service and care provided and look for any evidence of risk and then we will act on this. We assess the risks and then staff are responsible for managing these and we observe the care and then review when required.”

Staff and managers understood the value and importance of working with partners to continually improve the experiences of people using the service. A staff member told us, “We contact the relevant professional and let them know what support people require from them and get advice and then we follow this.” The registered manager said, “We have regular input from a range of healthcare professionals. The speech and language therapist and dietician come frequently. We also have visits from the district nurse and social workers. We have a good relationship with the GP and they will visit if required. They give us recommendations and we act on these.”

The service worked collaboratively with partners to improve people’s experiences. A healthcare professional told us, “Our experience of the home manager’s work and interventions have been hands on. It has been all positive experience and success stories for us.” Another healthcare professional said, “I have had a positive experience with the team there and they have been very helpful with supporting our clients. They have taken initiative in understanding the purpose of my treatment methods and are attentive with instructions given to them.”

The service had arrangements in place to work with partners and seek their guidance and recommendations, to support people to achieve positive outcomes and experiences. Managers met with healthcare professionals regularly to share learning and experiences about the delivery of people’s care and support. This was then disseminated to the staff team through supervision and meetings, to help them improve their practice and deliver better care and support to people using the service.

People were supported to give their feedback about how the service could be improved for them. People’s views were obtained through weekly sessions with their key worker, house meetings and reviews of their care and support needs. Managers acted on feedback to make improvements people wanted, for example, improving activities and mealtimes for people in line with their wishes.

Systems were in place to obtain feedback from people, staff, relatives and others involved in people’s care, to help the provider learn and improve the service. Staff, relatives and others involved in people’s care were regularly asked for their views through quality surveys. Managers used spot checks and audits to identify shortfalls and gaps at the service and used the learning from these to make improvements to the quality and safety of the care and support provided to people.

Staff were provided with regular opportunities to give their feedback and views about how the service could improve. A staff member told us, “They do listen to us. They value us here. It makes us work better and better.” Managers were focussed on learning and improving the service for people and encouraged feedback from people, relatives, staff and others involved in people’s care. The registered manager told us, “We use feedback from staff about how people were, when doing activities and we use that to assess whether people like these or not and helps us plan what people would enjoy doing going forwards. When we are planning meals we use information and learning about what works well.”