Aquarius Care Home

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to person centred care. Improvements were made and the provider was no longer remained in breach of this regulation.

This service scored 71 (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 did not always make sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices nor did records always support this.
The provider was working towards ensuring people’s likes, dislikes and preferences were recorded in their care plans, but this had not been completed for everyone at the time of our assessment. When completed this information will guide staff to ensure they are being cared for in the way that people prefer. A person told us, “If there is a new carer, I do have to tell them and guide them about what I need for a bit”.

People and relatives gave mixed views about if people were actively engaged in things that they enjoyed. They said there were external people who come to do exercises and also singers, but these activities were only occasional. The pictorial board of upcoming events included decorating the tree, poppy day and Halloween. A relative said, “Without us, their family, taking them out, they wouldn’t really have much to do.” Relatives said although staff chatted to people when supporting them with their care, staff had little opportunity to sit and chat with people to enable people to feel valued and listened to. The provider told us they had plans to employ an activity coordinator, but there was no one in this role at the time of our assessment.

We observed staff engaging people with puzzles and enabling people to take part in daily tasks such as wiping the table. Relatives said they were able to visit except during lunchtime which was a protected time. They said that special events were celebrated such as people’s birthday. The service was decorated in a Halloween them to celebrate the time of year.

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

The service worked with other health professionals involved in people’s care. They made referrals to health professionals as appropriate and ensured any guidance given was available to staff so people’s needs continued to be met.

Information was shared with staff during handovers regarding any changes to people’s health or care needs. Staff had access to people’s health and medical information and staff told us essential information was discussed to help continuity of care.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

The provider was aware of their responsibilities to ensure people with a disability, or sensory loss received information in a way they could understand it and support with their communication.They had begun to assess each person’s individual needs and give staff guidance about the best way to support people.

Some people were not able to verbalise their needs. Staff were provided with guidance about the signs they used to respond and how to recognise they were in pain. Picture cards were available to aid conversations. We observed staff communicating with people according to this guidance during our assessment. There was clear communication between staff and people and staff checked to make sure they understood people’s responses correctly. For example, a person was given 2 food options and they pointed to the 1 which they would like to eat.

Aspects of people’s care was provided in a way people could understand. There was signage throughout the service to help orientate people to the communal areas. People had pictures or photographs of things that were important to them on their bedroom doors to help them to identify their room. The menu was on the dining room wall in picture format to aid people living with dementia to understand what choices were available.

The provider gave people opportunities to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support.

The provider told us they had arranged a family and resident meeting to give people an opportunity to share any feedback but it had not been attended. They had sent survey forms to relatives and were awaiting more responses before analysing the results to see if any improvements were needed. The feedback from relatives to date had rated the service as good or outstanding. People commented that staff were always polite and willing to help. Relatives said there were feedback forms available at the service which they could complete or they could approach a specific member of the staff team.

The last residents meeting had been held in April 2025 with 5 people attending. The provider told us they intended to restart ‘resident of the day’ as they thought this was a more effective way to listen and act on the views of people using the service.

The provider also had a complaints procedure. People told us they were confident to speak up if they needed to. A person told us, “I speak my mind and how I feel. I take life as it comes, I am happy, I am alright”. A relative told us, “They do seem to respond if I raise any concerns”. A person gave an example of how they preferred to have a shower rather than a bath. They told us after they had informed staff about this, they were always taken for a shower.

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

There was a clear admissions criteria and people’s needs were assessed before moving into the service. People would only not be admitted if the provider had assessed that staff did not have the appropriate skills to provide safe care to an individual.

People were supported with medical appointments and routine, follow-up appointments. People told us they had access to health care professionals both inside and outside of the service. There were processes in place to ensure that people could receive care, support and treatment when they needed it. The district nurses visited the service twice daily and the doctor or paramedic link visited weekly.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

Staff were made aware of the provider’s equality and diversity policy at induction. The management team were aware of Right support, right care, right culture (RSRCRC). This applies to services for people with autism or people with a learning disability to ensure they receive the respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local amenities that most people take for granted.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

People’s goals for how they wanted to be cared for were included in their care planning, together with the actions needed to achieve these goals. For example, a person’s goal was to maintain their oral hygiene whilst acknowledging they did not want to visit a dentist. In order to achieve this staff were advised to prompt them to clean their teeth. Also, to check if they had any pain or discomfort to monitor for any diseases or infections.

People and their relatives had been contacted about their plans for end of life care. A record had been made of when people were not ready to discuss planning for the future at this time. A relative told us, “Recently I've had to do the end of life plan with my family member and the care home staff. I felt that it was done quite well."