Ashlong Cottage

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has changed to requires improvement. This meant people did not always feel well-supported, cared for or treated with dignity and respect.

The service was in breach of legal regulation in relation to person centred care.

This service scored 62 (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 always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Staff provided examples of how they upheld key principles of care and respect. They told us, “We make sure the doors are closed when giving personal care and knock before entering. We talk with [people] and respect their privacy when they are changing, ensuring they are covered with a towel.” Staff also emphasised the importance of confidentiality, stating, “Confidential matters are kept confidential.”

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Staff knew people well and had developed strong, meaningful relationships, enabling them to understand individuals’ support needs. One person described staff as “friends.” Relatives spoke highly of the staff, describing them as “amazing, very approachable” and “excellent.”

This was also echoed by a staff member, who told us, “It feels like home here—like my own family. We’ve known each other for a long time.”

The provider did not make sure people’s care and treatment was effective because they did not consistently supported people to access meaningful activities.

We were not assured that people received appropriate support to engage in meaningful activities and occupy their time. Records did not demonstrate that people were consistently offered opportunities for meaningful occupation or access to the community. Within the home, mainly one organised activity per day was recorded; activities were repetitive and often involved watching television. This did not align with people’s activity plans, which provided guidance for staff regarding individuals’ preferences for a variety of activities. We also found that some people accessed the community on a limited number of occasions, with no clear rationale recorded to explain this. In addition, discussions with the registered manager identified opportunities for healthcare professionals to be involved in determining the support required to enable a person to access the community without causing distress. The registered manager confirmed that there was no formal monitoring process in place to review activity records and acknowledged that further improvements were needed to enhance activities and engagement opportunities for people using the service.

This meant that people were not consistently provided with opportunities to participate in meaningful activities and engage with their local community, which placed them at risk of social isolation and reduced wellbeing. This constitutes a breach of Regulation in relation to person centred care.

Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

People appeared comfortable around staff and confident in asking for support when needed. Staff responded to requests in a patient and timely manner, while also encouraging individuals to maintain their independence and express themselves.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff, and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

The registered manager told us they supported staff in line with their individual circumstances. This included holding regular one-to-one meetings, where staff were given opportunities to discuss any changes in their situation, including health-related issues. Working patterns were adjusted where necessary to support staff wellbeing and to ensure they were able to continue providing the care people needed.