Archived: Ashurst Park Care Home

Ashurst Park Care Home is a residential care home with nursing for 53 older people.

At the time of this inspection there were 47 people living in the service. Some people lived with dementia and had special communication needs.

People's experience of using the service and what we found

People and their relatives were positive about the service. A person said, “The staff here are very good and all of them are kind to me.” Another person smiled and pointed in the direction of their bedroom when we used signed-assisted language to ask them about their home. A relative said, "In general, we’re lucky to have a good home near to us and I know mum is safe here.”

People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse. People received safe care and treatment in line with national guidance from nurses and care staff who had the knowledge and skills they needed. There were enough nurses and care staff on duty and safe recruitment practices were in place. People were supported to take medicines safely and lessons had been learned when things had gone wrong. Good standards of hygiene were maintained and people had been helped to quickly receive medical attention when necessary.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and care staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The accommodation was well maintained, people’s privacy was respected and confidential information was kept private.

People were consulted about their care, given information in an accessible way and supported to pursue their hobbies and interests. Complaints were quickly resolved and people were treated with compassion at the end of their lives so they had a dignified death.

Quality checks were completed and people had been consulted about the development of the service. Good team work was promoted, regulatory requirements had been met and joint working was promoted.

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

Rating at last inspection

The service was rated good at our last inspection (published 27 January 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Ashurst Park Care Home provides nursing and personal care for up to 53 older people. At the time of our inspection, 44 people were living at the service.

There was not a registered manager in post. The service had a manager who was going through the registration process with the Care Quality commission. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Staff had an understanding of abuse and the safeguarding procedures that should be followed to report abuse. All the staff we spoke with were confident in reporting any concerns they had. People had risk assessments in place to enable staff to support them safely in any area of their lives where risk was present.

Staffing levels were adequate to meet people's current needs. There was a wide range of skilled staff working at the service which enabled people’s needs to be met promptly and accurately. We saw rotas that confirmed staffing levels were consistent.

The staff recruitment procedures ensured that appropriate pre-employment checks were carried out to ensure only suitable staff worked at the service.

Staff received induction training and on-going training was provided to ensure they had the skills, knowledge and support they needed to perform their roles. Staff were able to gain qualifications in care to improve their knowledge.

Medicines were stored in a locked trolley, within a locked room. Administration of medication was on time and accurate. Recording systems were completely accurate and disposal systems were in place and safe.

Staff felt well supported by the registered manager and senior team, and had regular one to one

supervisions. Systems were in place to make sure that staff were able to voice concerns and feedback on the service.

People's consent was gained before any care was provided and the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were met.

People were able to choose the food and drink they wanted and staff supported people with this. A variety of fresh food was prepared and cooked on a daily basis. Drinks and snacks were offered to people regularly. People’s food and fluid intake was monitored where necessary. People had access to the healthcare they required and medical professionals visited the service regularly and as needed.

Staff treated people with warmth, kindness, dignity and respect, and spent time getting to know them and their specific needs and wishes. The staff created a friendly and open atmosphere for people to enjoy spending time in. People told us they got on well with staff and enjoyed interacting with them.

People were involved in their own care planning and were able to contribute to the way in which they were supported. People told us that staff talked to them about their own care and offered them choices. Relatives of people we spoke with were involved in making decisions about care, when the person themselves were not able to.

The service had a complaints procedure in place to ensure that people and their families were able to provide feedback about their care and to help the service make improvements where required.

The people we spoke with knew how to use it.

Quality monitoring systems and processes were used effectively to drive future improvement and identify where action was needed. The service regularly conducted detailed audits across all areas of the service to enable quality to be monitored consistently.