Aspen Gardens

Updated 15 January 2026

Date of Assessment: 16 March 2026 to 3 April 2026. Aspen Gardens is a care at home service providing support to adults of all ages in an extra care living scheme. People had their own apartments or bungalows and access to a range of communal facilities. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do; we also consider any wider social care provided. This was a planned assessment due to the length of time since the service was registered. We reviewed all quality statements. We gave the provider short notice to ensure management were available when we visited the office.

We found people received safe care and were happy with the service provided by Aspen Gardens. However, recruitment checks were not consistent, and some staff had incomplete recruitment files. Audits had not recognised and remedied this; we raised this with the registered manager, and they took some immediate improvement actions.

Medicines were managed safely. Risks to people's care were assessed and well managed. There were appropriate processes and procedures in place to safeguard people from abuse and neglect. There was a system in place to ensure accidents and incidents were reported, recorded and actioned. People received care that was centred around their needs. Staff knew about people's needs and preferences. The provider monitored the consistency of visits, which mostly happened as planned, and had acted to further improve timings. People's communication needs were assessed and plans put in place to ensure staff understood people’s preferred means of communication. Relevant healthcare professionals were involved and contacted, such as district nurses, GPs and social workers.

Staff told us they felt supported by the management team. Supervisions and appraisals were taking place. Staff told us they enjoyed working at the service and their wellbeing was supported. Staff had the appropriate training for their roles. There were several quality assurance processes in place, and most had been effective. However, they had not identified the issues with recruitment files. Audits fed into monitored action plans which helped drive improvements.

Updated 15 January 2026

Everyone we spoke with told us they felt safe. People and relatives felt staff were kind, caring and respectful. A person said, “Everyone is very kind and polite.” Most people felt staff had good timekeeping and visited as planned, a few told us they felt this could be improved. The provider demonstrated most visits happened as planned with a small degree of flexibility as staff also responded to calls for assistance outside of planned visits.

People knew how to complain and felt any issues would be resolved. They knew how to contact staff and management to discuss issues. A person said, “I can call the office any time I want, it’s very easy”. People and relatives told us medicines were managed safely. Staff helped some people to keep their homes clean, prepare meals or go shopping. People felt staff knew their needs and staff had immediate access to care plans if anything changed. People told us they were supported by regular staff they knew and who understood their care.

People commented very positively on the ‘extra care’ aspects of the service. They told us they could get help and assistance quickly outside of planned care and some people said staff popped in to check on them. People particularly enjoyed the lunchtime meal provided in the communal bistro and the range of social activities on offer. A person said, “I love the bistro down there. I always have dinners with my friends. It’s a really nice community.” Everyone told us overall they were happy with the service provided. For example, one person said, “This is a very good service. I can’t think of any improvements."