Ashill Lodge Care 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.

At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 70 (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. For example, we observed staff were sitting at eye level, smiling, calm and patient when talking to people. 1 person explained “the staff are very kind and caring. They are really good, I never feel rushed, they are very good.”

Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. 1 healthcare professional told us, “I think the staff are brilliant here and its one of my favourite homes to come and visit.” another told us, “I am treated wonderfully and staff are very receptive. It's been a new role for me going to the care homes and they have been really welcoming and kind.”

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. A person told us, “some ladies come in from the church, and I like to join in.” A staff member told us, “We support people with what they want, as long as they are safe.”

We observed a staff member dealt with a person's request for wanting breakfast food at 8pm, together they made scrambled eggs on toast which was enjoyed as a late-night snack.

The provider did not always promote people’s independence, so people did not always know their rights and have choice and control over their own wellbeing. We found that whilst the service provided activities these were often limited and not always dementia friendly and that used a range of senses. The provider could not evidence activities consistently to the likes of people living in the service, some examples were Cooking, Gardening and going for walks.

However, we observed a person using the stairs unaided and learned they had been shown the safe use of the stair gates to keep other people safe from harm in the service whilst promoting their own independence, this was also included in the risk assessment and care plan for this individual.

1 person shared, “they help me be independent and we did some exercises this morning.” In the dining room during the lunch service there was enough staff available to ensure the meal was served in a timely manner and people were not kept waiting for their choice of food and with the option to request more.

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.
We observed sensor equipment was in place for some people to alert staff if they needed assistance.

We observed a staff member responded promptly to 1 person who was anxious and distressed when they wished for a quieter environment rather than the dining room. The staff member assisted them to eat their meal in the lounge area to minimise their discomfort.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.
Staff told us they enjoyed working at Ashill Lodge Care Home. Staff said, “I would be here all day if I could, I love it, the staff are happy, chatty and they have a giggle. We keep the people safe and well.”

Records showed staff received regular supervisions and felt supported in their roles stating, “My colleagues are supportive, especially the registered manager and they always ask us if we are ok and if there is anything we need.” And, “they are really understanding about child care and my personal circumstances.”