Ashridge Court Care Centre

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

Effective – this means we looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on best available evidence.

At our last assessment we rated this key question Good. At this assessment the rating has remained Good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

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.

The provider made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them. People's health and social needs were assessed before coming to live at the service; the impact of these had been fully considered and there was clear information about what was important to people and how they would like their care and support to be delivered. This had also ensured the service could meet the identified needs of the person and that staff had the necessary training to keep them safe and well. There was evidence of family involvement within the documents. Staff told us that people’s communication needs were assessed regularly and different methods of communication tried and reviewed to ensure people were offered every opportunity to participate in their care decisions. We saw staff effectively communicate with people who lived with dementia and this allowed them to be involved in decisions and choices.

The provider planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards.

Records included guidance for staff relating to people’s health conditions, medicines support, nutrition and mobility needs. Recognised tools and guidance, including the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) and International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) guidance were used to support the delivery of care.The management team had oversight of these and planned support appropriately with the involvement of family and the staff team. The service had links with other organisations such as tissue viability services and speech and language therapists (SaLT).

The service worked with a multidisciplinary team (MDT) to ensure relevant and up to date treatments were used. Advice given by the Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) team was followed in relation to food and liquid consistency as it applied to people individually. Kitchen staff were familiar with people’s needs in this regard and ensured all meals were adapted as needed.

Leaders kept up to date with legislation and evidence-based standards by regularly accessing the CQC and the Social Care Institute for Excellence website. Leaders worked together across the provider and other homes to share good practice.

The provider worked well across teams and services to support people. They made sure people only needed to tell their story once by sharing their assessment of needs when people moved between different services.

Partners we spoke to share a positive experience of working collaboratively with Ashridge Court Care Centre. Staff attended regular MDT meetings which helped ensure all parties involved with supporting people were aware of up-to-date needs and developments. Information is shared as needed in line with privacy legislation.

There was evidence of regular interactions between the clinical staff and other healthcare professionals, the GP conducted a ward round every week, and this was led by the nurse. There was documentation within the care plans of involvement from podiatry, OT and hospice teams. Staff reported that engagement with other professionals included family involvement to ensure people’s needs were supported and care plans were reviewed. This highlighted that there was an engaging and collaborative approach to people’s care.

The provider supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. Staff supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.

Staff encouraged people to remain as independent and mobile as possible. One visitor told us, “They keep people active, and drinks are always available” and “The food is good, I know there have been problems with chefs, but it always looks nice.”

A staff member said, “We will always offer to assist but also encourage them to do things for themselves, we offer food and drink choices, to encourage them to make choices.”

There were processes in place to guide staff about how to support people to lead healthier lives. Staff understood people’s health and wellbeing needs and provided support in line with people’s preferences and assessed needs. Staff supported people to attend healthcare appointments and liaised with external professionals, where required, to help maintain people’s health and wellbeing. For example, opticians and dentists.

People were encouraged by staff to eat healthy meals and drink regularly to maintain their physical health. For those losing weight, additional milk and cream were added to some foods to enhance weight gain, although weight loss was also supported if needed.

Staff encouraged people to remain as independent as possible and supported people with routines and daily living in a way that reflected their abilities and preferences. We saw staff supporting people and providing reassurance and guidance, where needed. We also saw that there were exercise sessions and visits out. Staff supported people to see friends and family and there were people who went out regularly and staff ensured they had the necessary aids to manage safely. This helped people maintain their health, independence and overall wellbeing.

People's health and wellbeing were monitored regularly. Staff understood people's needs, identified changes in their condition, and recorded these appropriately. Vital signs and weight were monitored in line with people's assessed needs, and any concerns were acted upon promptly, including referrals to relevant healthcare professionals where required.

The provider monitored people's outcomes and responded appropriately when their needs changed. For example, where people had experienced falls, referrals were made to the falls team, and additional measures, such as sensor mats, sensor lights were introduced to reduce the risk of further falls.

Records demonstrated that people's outcomes were reviewed regularly, and care and risk management plans were updated to reflect changes in their needs. This helped to ensure people continued to receive safe, effective, and person-centred care.

However, deterioration in a persons’ health, had not been recorded, or discussed as a team to ensure that appropriate care and support was offered. This has been considered under the person centred quality statement.

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.

People told us care staff always sought consent prior to carrying out tasks, which we also observed during our assessment. When people didn’t consent, this was recorded and respected.

Where people had been assessed as not having capacity to make specific decisions this was clearly documented. When this was the case consent was sought from the person with legal authority to consent on a person’s behalf. This was clearly recorded in individual care plans.

The service worked with partner agencies where necessary to ensure people’s rights under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Staff we spoke to understood, the key principles of this legislation and worked in people’s best interests when providing care and treatment.

The service worked well with partner agencies as necessary. One healthcare partner told us, “Best interest assessors visit when necessary and capacity is regularly re-assessed by the team.”