Ashbourne Lodge Care Centre

Ashbourne Lodge Care Centre provides accommodation and personal care for up to 40 people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 38 people living in the home.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People felt very safe living in the home and with the support they received from staff. Comments included, “We’re all treated very well. We get fed well and looked after” and, “Staff are so caring. I’m happy in the fact that when I’m not here I know [family member] is looked after and loved. I know she’s well fed.”

Staff safeguarded people from abuse. Risks to individuals and the environment were well managed. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. The provider learned from accidents and incidents to mitigate future risks. Medicines were safely managed. Infection control processes were embedded into the service and staff followed government guidance in relation to infection control and prevention practices. One person said, “They (staff) keep it so very clean.”

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

The home was well managed. The provider, manager and staff promoted a positive culture in the home. People and relatives were complimentary about the home and care people received. The provider had an effective quality assurance process in place, including regular audits. People, relatives and staff were regularly consulted about the quality of the service through communications in the form of surveys, meetings and reviews. The provider, manager and staff worked in partnership with other health professionals to achieve positive outcomes for people.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 4 October 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. As a result, we decided to undertake a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Ashbourne Lodge Care Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

We found the following examples of good practice.

• Systems were in place to help prevent people, staff and visitors from catching or spreading infection. Every staff member and visitor had their temperature taken at the door and were given a mask to wear. Everyone had to use the hand sanitiser and complete a health declaration upon entering the home.

• The environment was clean. Additional cleaning was taking place, including frequently touched surfaces.

• There was sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, aprons, gloves and visors. The registered manager carried out weekly checks to ensure the home always had enough PPE.

• Staff had undertaken training in putting on and taking off PPE and other COVID-19 related training. Infection control champions were in place who assessed the competency of staff in IPC practices.

• Staff supported people’s social and emotional wellbeing. Local visiting restrictions were in place, so people were supported to keep in touch with their family members via video or telephone calls and social media messages.

• People and staff were taking part in the coronavirus regular testing programme.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Ashbourne Lodge Care Centre provides care and accommodation for up to 40 people, some of whom have a dementia type condition. On the day of our inspection there were 38 people using the service.

The service had a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like 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.

We last inspected the service in June 2015 and rated the service as ‘Good.’ At this inspection we found the service remained ‘Good’ and met all the fundamental standards we inspected against.

Accidents and incidents were appropriately recorded and risk assessments were in place. The manager understood their responsibilities with regard to safeguarding and staff had been trained in safeguarding vulnerable adults.

Appropriate arrangements were in place for the safe administration and storage of medicines.

The home was clean, spacious and suitable for the people who used the service, and appropriate health and safety checks had been carried out.

There were sufficient numbers of staff on duty in order to meet the needs of people who used the service. The provider had an effective recruitment and selection procedure in place and carried out relevant vetting checks when they employed staff.

Staff were suitably trained and received regular supervisions and appraisals.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible.

People were protected from the risk of poor nutrition and staff were aware of people’s nutritional needs. Care records contained evidence of people being supported during visits to and from external health care specialists.

People who used the service and family members were complimentary about the standard of care at Ashbourne Lodge Care Centre.

Staff treated people with dignity and respect and helped to maintain people’s independence by encouraging them to care for themselves where possible. Care plans were in place that recorded people’s plans and wishes for their end of life care.

Care records showed that people’s needs were assessed before they started using the service and care plans were written in a person-centred way. Person-centred is about ensuring the person is at the centre of any care or support plans and their individual wishes, needs and choices are taken into account.

Activities were arranged for people who used the service based on their likes and interests and to help meet their social needs.

The provider had an effective complaints procedure in place and people who used the service and family members were aware of how to make a complaint.

The provider had an effective quality assurance process in place. Staff said they felt supported by the manager. People who used the service, family members and staff were regularly consulted about the quality of the service.

We spoke to one person using the service who told us they were "happy'. We spoke to three relatives. One relative told us, 'Staff are good.' Another relative said, 'Staff do what they can.'

All of the people we spoke with confirmed that they thought their relative was safe.

We saw people were treated with consideration and respect. The home made sure people were protected from unsafe care.

At the time of this visit there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff available to meet people's needs.

People were made aware of the complaints policy. We saw the provider monitored the quality of the service, and asked people and their relatives for their views.

During the inspection visit, we saw a number of district nurses visiting people who needed a nursing service. This showed that people were receiving appropriate care and support from the NHS. One person told us, 'I can't fault the care here. The girls are really caring and very kind'. One relative we spoke with told us they had no problems with the care provided as Ashbourne Lodge. They told us, 'Me and my family are happy with the care mom gets here. They keep us informed about everything'.

People we spoke with told us they were aware of the complaints procedure and would know what to do if they had any concerns. People felt confident about making any comments or raising concerns with the manager. One person told us,'I am very happy here. I have no concerns at all'.