Ashwood Rest Home

Updated 10 July 2021

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

One inspector carried out this inspection

Service and service type

Ashwood Rest Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service and five relatives via telephone about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine members of staff including the provider, registered manager, deputy manager and care workers. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, action plans, risk assessments, policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at staffing rotas and training data. We also received written feedback about the service from two healthcare professionals.

Updated 10 July 2021

About the service

Ashwood Rest Home is a 'care home' which can accommodate up to 39 people in one adapted building. At the time of inspection there were 19 older people living at the service, some of whom were living with dementia.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Since our last inspection, the provider had made improvements to quality and safety which meant they were no longer in breach of regulations.

The provider had introduced a new medicines management system in the home. This helped ensure there were safe arrangements in place for the ordering, storage, administration and disposal of medicines.

The provider had effective systems to manage environmental risks such as fire safety, legionella and maintenance of equipment.

The registered manager had improved systems and processes to monitor the quality of care. This included developing audits and action plans to help ensure any areas of improvement were implemented and sustained.

The provider worked in partnership with other stakeholders to help ensure their policies and procedures were in line with best practice guidelines.

Safeguarding concerns were investigated and reported appropriately by the provider. Changes had been made to improve people's safety in response to incidents or when concerns about their welfare were raised.

Staff ensured people lived in a clean environment. Infection prevention and control measures followed government guidance.

There were enough staff in place to meet people’s needs. Staffing arrangements were regularly reviewed when people’s needs changed.

The provider had made appropriate recruitment checks for new staff and provided them with training to help them meet people’s needs.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection (and update)

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 24 October 2018) where we identified three breaches in regulation.

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-Led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Ashwood Rest Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.