Ashton Meadows Nursing Home

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. This is the first assessment for this service since registration in July 2024. This key question has been rated 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.

Managers undertook comprehensive assessments of people’s needs prior to them using the service. They involved people, their families and healthcare partners in these assessments to obtain a detailed understanding of people’s needs and the care and support they required for these. A relative told us, “It is very thorough. When [family member] came in, they asked me all sorts of things, like [family member’s] medication and also what food they like and do not like. They also asked me about their background, what they enjoy doing and what they do not enjoy doing.” A healthcare partner said, “They are very good at assessment and planning care, from the experiences I have had with them.”

Managers used the information from assessments to develop care and risk management plans for people to meet their specific needs. They monitored and reviewed these plans at regular intervals to make sure they were up to date with information about people’s current needs.

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.

Staff understood people’s needs and how these should be met. A relative said about staff, “They know their job, and they are capable of doing it.” Another relative told us, “They seem to be very on the ball and to know what they are doing. They seem to be very conscious of [family member’s] needs.”

Managers stayed up to date with latest research, current practice and guidance. They used good practice healthcare assessment tools to help with them with the planning and delivery of people’s care and support needs.

Staff undertook refresher training at regular intervals to ensure their skills and knowledge remained up to date with current practice. The registered nurses on the staff team undertook relevant clinical training to support them to meet people’s nursing needs.

All staff were trained and up to date with current evidence-based practice around meeting people’s nutritional needs, including those related to specialist diets.

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.

The staff team worked well together and shared information and updates about people at daily handovers, to ensure a consistent approach to the care and support provided to them. A relative told us, “There is a carers, nurses and activities team here. All these teams work together and are very proactive…whoever you talk to here, there is a real team feel, which I think is really important.”

Staff told us they worked on rotation across the service. This had helped them develop a good understanding of the needs of all the people at the service as well as provide opportunities to continuously learn from each other and share practice. A relative said, “[Family member] has met all the carers and knows them, and they rotate. The great thing about that is, that there is not a dependency on one carer.”

The service worked proactively with healthcare partners to make sure people received appropriate support for all their care and support needs. A healthcare partner, specialising in end-of-life care, told us, “I feel like I have a great working relationship with the managers and staff. I feel they listen and understand and do everything they can to facilitate requests I make, often at short notice. I appreciate this as it does help make a difference in terms of helping people die in their preferred place of 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 need for care and support.

People were supported by staff to stay healthy and well. Staff used a range of healthcare tools to assess and monitor people’s ongoing health and wellbeing. They reported any concerns they had about this to the relevant healthcare partners so that people received appropriate support for this. A person told us, “I have occasionally needed a doctor to check on things, and this has been willingly done without having to push or press for it.” A healthcare partner said, “The nursing team are very responsive and support people really well. They flag things quickly but also manage the lower-level heath issues really well.”

People ate and drank enough to meet their needs. One person said about the food and drink provision at the service, “It is certainly adequate and tasty. If you don't like one thing, you can have something else. They also do extras, like yoghurts. There are no restrictions on what you can have.” A relative told us, “The food is very good and is excellent actually. There are three options at mealtimes. The day before, the staff ask my [family member] what they would like. They also get enough to drink.”

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

The staff team understood people’s care goals and outcomes and supported people to achieve these. A relative told us, “When [family member] left hospital, they were completely immobile and we were told that because of their advanced dementia, their physio would stop. However, when [family member] arrived here, they were seen regularly by the in-house physio on site. Through their intervention, [family member] can at least now stand and even take a few steps, heavily supported by carers and with a zimmer frame. This has given [family member] a sense that they can do more for themself. That is particularly relevant to [member’s] toileting as they don't need to now hoist them or use a sara steady. In our eyes, that is hugely positive progress.”

The staff team worked well with healthcare partners to monitor and review people’s clinical needs, to make sure the support they received for this remained effective. A healthcare partner told us, “I noticed that a lot of people with previous mental health issues have come to Ashton Meadows and that support has been withdrawn, due to the positive experiences of people and the care and support they are getting there. I asked the [registered manager] about the things they would do to manage people’s agitation, and they explained the steps they would take, and I can see the positive impact.”

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

Staff sought people’s permission and consent before they provided any care and support.

Mental capacity assessments were completed with people and others involved in their care. Where people could not make decisions and consent to their care, processes were in place to make sure any decisions would be made in their best interests. A healthcare partner told us, “[Registered manager] is very good at explaining to people and relatives their care needs, especially when doing things in people’s best interests.”