We carried out a review of the data available to us about Ashley Lodge RH Limited on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Ashley Lodge RH Limited, you can give feedback on this service.
Ashley Lodge Residential Home provides accommodation and personal care for up to 26 people. On the day of our inspection, 19 people were receiving services, some of whom were living with dementia.
People's experience of using this service and what we found
We have made a recommendation about reviewing the policy on ‘homely remedies’ for people.
People received safe care and support as the staff team had been trained to recognise potential signs of abuse and understood what to do to safely support people.
The provider had assessed the risks to people associated with their care and support. Staff members were knowledgeable about these risks and knew what to do to minimise the potential for harm to people.
Staff members followed effective infection prevention and control procedures when supporting people. Staff members had access to, and used, appropriate personal protection equipment.
People received safe support with their medicines by trained and competent staff members.
The provider supported staff in providing effective care for people through person-centred care planning, staff training and one-to-one supervision.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems at Ashley Lodge Residential Home supported this practice.
People had access to additional healthcare services when required. Staff members knew people's individual health outcomes and supported them appropriately. People were supported to maintain a healthy diet by a staff team which knew their individual preferences.
People received help and support from a kind and compassionate staff team with whom they had
developed positive relationships. People were supported by staff members who were aware of their individual protected characteristics like age, gender and disability.
People were provided with information in a way they could understand.
The provider had systems in place to encourage and respond to any complaints or compliments. The provider, and management team, had good links with the local communities within which people lived. The management team and provider had systems in place to identify improvements and drive good care.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was 'Good' (Published 09 June 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
The service has a registered manager who was present throughout the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People told us they thought the home was safe. Staff knew about possible signs of abuse and described action they would take to ensure people’ safety. People had the risks associated with their care well managed and staff understood how to minimise people’s risks in their care.
People received their medicines safely although we identified there was a need to improve the accuracy of some medicine records. We saw people receiving their medicines in a dignified manner.
The majority of people we spoke with told us that there were sufficient staff available to respond to their support needs.
Staff had received training to enable them to understand and meet people’s individual needs. Staff informed us they felt supported.
People living at the home benefited from good healthcare and the service was quick to respond to any changes in healthcare needs. People received food and drink that was based on their preferences.
Although people were offered choices in their daily care we found that the service had not supported people consistently under the Mental Capacity Act (2005).
Staff supported people who were living with dementia with confidence and ease. We found that there was a need to improve the availability of orientation and communication aids for people living with dementia.
People told us they felt cared for by staff whom they had built up good relationships with. People had the opportunity to state how they would prefer to be supported. People living at the home were able to review their care.
People had access to activities which were planned.
People felt able to raise any concerns or complaints and reported they were confident these would be dealt with appropriately.
People and their relatives provided positive feedback about how the service was managed. Quality monitoring systems were in place although some were not entirely effective. People living at the home had been given the opportunity to feedback their experiences of living at the home in order to drive improvement within the service.
We inspected this home on the 19 and 20 October 2015. This was an unannounced inspection. Ashley Lodge provides accommodation for a maximum of 26 older people, some of whom have dementia and who require personal care. There were 23 people living at the home when we visited although two were in hospital. The home is set out over two floors with a lift providing access to all floors. All of the bedrooms were single en-suite bedrooms apart from one shared bedroom.
There was a registered manager at the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People that we spoke with felt safe living at the home. Staff knew how to recognise when people may be at risk of harm and felt confident to raise any concerns they may have. We saw there were sufficient staff available to meet people’s requests for support.
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) sets out what must be done to protect the rights of people using services who may lack the capacity to make decisions for themselves. We found that although staff had received training on the MCA understanding of this legislation varied amongst staff. There was no evidence of how it had been determined that people lacked capacity and what it meant in respect of making decisions about aspects of their day to day lives.
We observed positive interactions between staff and people living at the service and it was evident that staff knew people well. Staff that we spoke with knew people’s likes and dislikes and could tell us how they followed people’s care plans to provide care in the way the person wished. People and their relatives described the staff and registered manager as kind and approachable.
Medicines were stored safely and only staff who had received training were allowed to administer medication. We saw that people were supported to receive their medications in a dignified way. Whilst most prescribed medicines were given safely we found that some systems around medication administration were not always effective and audit systems in place had not identified the issues found.
We found that whilst people were supported to express their views about the care they received, not all people were routinely involved in commenting on the quality of the service or in making suggestions of how the service could improve. We saw that the provider had systems in place for people to report concerns and complaints.
Systems were in place to ensure that people were protected from risks and the associated records were regularly reviewed and appropriate action taken. Although there were some systems in place to monitor aspects of the quality and safety of the service they were not always robust.
People were complimentary about the care staff who supported them and their living environment. Comments included, 'The food is good, we are all well looked after' and 'This place is always spotless and the staff are wonderful.'
We examined care plans and found that people's needs were properly assessed and that care and support was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plans. From our observations it was apparent that care staff were attentive, polite and sought consent before providing care and support.
We examined staff training and recruitment records and spoke to care staff. We found that people who lived at this care home were safe and their health and welfare needs were being met by care staff who were fit, appropriately qualified and competent.
We observed care staff administer medication and examined records. This revealed that people were adequately protected against the risks associated with medicines because staff were competent and there were appropriate arrangements and policies in place.
We found that care was provided in an environment that was safe, accessible and suitably designed and adequately maintained.
We concluded that Ashley Lodge was a comfortable, well maintained care home which was safe, caring and well led.
People told us that they were happy with how their care and support needs were being met. They told us that staff were available at the times they needed them and that they supported them in a respectful manner. Comments included: 'The staff are all good at their job and they are very thoughtful,' and 'If I am feeling ill, staff get the doctor to come out and see me.'
People told us about the quality and choice of food and drink available. They told us that they were satisfied about the choice and quality of meals and that food and drink was readily available to them. A person using the service told us 'There is a choice of food, it's good.'
People told us that they felt safe living at the home and that they would speak to the staff if they had any concerns. A person using the service told us 'If I had anything to complain about I'm sure the staff would do something about it.'
During our inspection, we asked local authority staff involved in monitoring the home about the quality of service provided. We had not received any feedback from them at the time of writing this report.
People told us that they were happy living at the home and that their care needs were being met. They told us that they received care and support in the way they preferred and in a respectful and timely manner. People told us that they were supported by care workers who had a good understanding of their care and support needs. People told us 'The staff are all very kind and thoughtful. They are always very polite', 'I love it here, I really do. I am so well looked after' and 'the staff come and give me my medication on time'. One person's relative who was visiting told us 'There are plenty of staff around when we visit and we are made to feel welcome'.
People told us that they were happy with the meals provided at the home. People told us 'The food is perfect and there are always plenty of drinks' and 'the food is very good, we have a choice'.
People told us that they are encouraged to pursue any hobbies or interests that they may have. People told us that they are supported to maintain relationships that are important to them. People told us 'A lady came yesterday to entertain us. We had music and played bingo. She was very good' and 'they took us to the botanical garden, that was very nice'.
People told us that they were happy with the cleanliness of the home. One person that lived at the home told us 'It is always nice and clean and warm here'.
People told us that they felt confident to raise any concerns that they may have about the service and that actions are taken in response to these. One person's relative who was visiting told us 'If I had any concerns I'd speak to one of the senior staff or the manager but I don't have any concerns'.