Ashton Meadows Nursing Home

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. This is the first assessment for this service since registration in July 2024. This key question has been rated good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

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 always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity.

People told us staff treated them well. One person said about staff, “I would say they are caring and very respectful.” Another person told us, “They are fantastic. They are incredibly patient.” A relative said, “They are friendly, kind, helpful and caring.” Healthcare partners were complimentary about the staff team and the care they provided people. One healthcare partner told us, “The staff are proactive, understanding and caring. They care for their residents with respect and dignity.” Another said, “They genuinely care about people, and they are good at what they do. They know how to care, and they communicate well.”

People appeared comfortable and relaxed with staff and interactions between them were kind and respectful. Staff were attentive to people, listening, reassuring and encouraging people to express themselves. Staff provided care and support discreetly whilst maintaining people’s dignity. If people chose to spend time in their room, staff made sure their privacy was maintained, by ensuring people’s doors remained closed if they wanted this.

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.

People’s care and support was tailored to meet their individual needs. People’s care plans instructed staff on how their individual needs and preferences should be met. Staff understood how to treat people as individuals and provide care and support in line with their needs and preferences. A staff member said, “Care is very person-centred, so we are providing care in ways people have asked for and have talked to us about.”

Managers undertook regular monitoring and reviews of people’s care and support needs, to make sure care plans reflected people’s individual needs and preferences.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

People had choice and control over how their care and support was provided. One person told us, “Yes, definitely.” A relative said, “[Family member] would certainly have their say and they do.”

People’s care records instructed staff to seek people’s consent, offer choice, and support people to do as much as they could and wanted to do for themselves. A staff member said, “We always speak with people about their care and how they want things to happen. Some people like things the same way and they want us to do things the same way. Other people like to choose at the time.” Another staff member told us, “People want different things. Some want a big meal at different times, so we find out what people prefer and accommodate this. For personal care, people’s preferences are all in their care plan.”

Managers regularly reviewed people’s records to make sure these remained up to date and current about people’s choices for their care and support needs.

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Staff understood people’s needs and knew how to minimise risk of any discomfort or distress people might experience. Staff responded quickly and appropriately to prevent incidents occurring which may lead to people becoming upset and distressed. A healthcare partner told us, “I genuinely can say the staff are alert and anticipating people’s needs. There has been a reduction in agitation…I haven’t seen anyone with any serious agitation or distress since I have been going in there. It’s such a calm place.”

When people needed staff’s support, they responded promptly. This included people who chose to spend time in their rooms. We saw call bells were answered promptly so people did not have to wait long for assistance from staff.

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

Staff were well supported in their roles. They received regular training and supervision to support them in their day-to-day work. They told us managers were approachable and supportive and willing to listen to any concerns they had about their work. A staff member said, “I feel our managers are very supportive. It’s very easy to speak with managers. They listen and take action.”

The registered manager understood the importance of staff wellbeing and was alert and proactive to any potential changes in staff mood and morale that might affect their work performance. They told us, “You can tell with your staff when things are not quite right and not themselves. I will pull them in and have a chat. My previous training in mental health helps me with this.”