• Care Home
  • Care home

Archived: Ashlee Residential Care Home

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

89, Nottingham Road, Long Eaton, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG10 2BU (0115) 972 9465

Provided and run by:
ASHA Healthcare Limited

Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile

All Inspections

15 December 2015

During a routine inspection

We inspected this service on 15 December 2015. This was an unannounced inspection. Ashlee residential care home provides care for up to 21 older people, some of whom were living with dementia. When we visited, 21 people were living at the service.

The home had a manager in place who was in the process of registering with us. 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.

Our last inspection took place in August 2014 and at that time we found that there were three breaches to the regulations.

The provider sent us an action plan in April 2015 stating what actions they were putting in place to ensure these standards would be met in the future. We were told how they would make improvements in how people’s medicines were managed; how they would ensure sufficient staff were in place to meet needs and keep people safe; and how they would plan care to meet individual’s needs. During this inspection, we found that the provider had made improvements in all these areas.

We found that people were supported in a way that protected their welfare and they told us they felt safe. People’s medicines were kept and administered in a safe manner and staff showed they had a good understanding about medicines. There was sufficient staff available to meet people’s needs. Staff had a good understanding and knowledge of safeguarding people and understood what constituted abuse or poor practice. The staff knew how to report or respond if they had any concerns.

People were supported in the way that they chose and staff knew each person well and understood their support needs. They were supported to make choices and decisions. When they were not able to, decisions were made in their best interests involving people who were important to them. Where restrictions had been placed upon people these had been assessed, and applications made to ensure any restrictions were lawful.

We found that people were supported to eat and drink to maintain a balanced diet. Specialist diets were catered for and people were given choices and encouraged to be independent. People received support from health care professionals when needed and staff enabled people to attend appointments.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. Their dignity and privacy was respected and they were supported to express views about their care. They received care that was individual to them and responsive to their needs. Staff were aware of people’s changing needs and individual’s preferences. People were given choices about the activities they wanted to participate in. People and their relatives knew how to raise any concerns or complaints. Issues were dealt with in a timely manner.

Staff felt supported by the manager and provider. They told us they were approachable and responsive. Staff received a range of training to develop their skills and they showed how they put this knowledge into practice. Systems were in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service and they were keen to continue to make improvements.

15 August 2014

During a routine inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by CQC which looks at the overall quality of the service.

The inspection was unannounced this meant the provider did not know we were going to inspect.

At our last inspection carried out on 3 and 13 February 2014, we found the service was not meeting requirements of two of the regulations we inspect against these related to the care and welfare of people who use the service and staffing.

Ashlee Residential Care Home provides accommodation and personal care for up 21 older people some who may be living with dementia. At the time of the inspection the service did not have a registered manager in post. An acting manager had been recruited but was not registered with us. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider.

During this inspection we found that the provider needed to make improvements in order to ensure people who used the service were receiving a good standard of care. Staffing levels were not sufficient to ensure people received appropriate support to meet their needs.

Arrangements to manage medication were in place but required further intervention to ensure people received the medication they were prescribed at the time is was required.

We found that although some of the staff we spoke with had an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of liberty safeguards (DoLS) there had been a lack of recognition by the service of the need to make referrals for authorisation. This meant people may have been deprived of their liberty because the service had not sought authorisation.

We found that some staff had not received essential training to enable them to support people safely. This meant people may not receive effective care and support to met their needs.

We found a number of breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.

3, 13 February 2014

During an inspection in response to concerns

Ashlee provides a home for people with dementia therefore there were people who were not able to express an opinion about their care and welfare. We visited the home on two occasions as part of a response to information of concern. In this way we were able to do a further assessment of the care provided and on the impact of the staffing levels for meeting people's care needs.

We observed people sitting in the communal areas. Other people chose to remain in their rooms. Staff interacted with people in between their tasks. A member of staff was seen to spend time with people in the lounge area providing a group activity for people. Another staff member was seen doing hair dressing for one person. However, we also observed care that lacked attention to detail. For example, one person was given a drink that they could not manage as they could not lift the mug safely. In the dining room there were no visible prompts to remind people of the menu for each meal. This was important because it would show they were part of the planning and management of their social circumstances.

People using the service did not raise concerns about the staffing levels. However, because some staff had left the provider's employment, remaining staff were being asked to cover the extra shifts. The staffing rota was not accurate as the work planned was different from what was actually worked. Staff told us that any short falls were covered by them as agency staff were not often used.

30 August 2013

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We observed people at the home being cared for and they received care and support in the way they preferred. There were improvements in the way care was monitored.

We saw people had contributed to the new care plans and care workers were using the information from them more effectively.

We found medicines were handled appropriately as observed and people received their medicines in a timely manner.

14 May 2013

During a routine inspection

In this report the name of a registered manager appears who was not in post and not managing the regulatory activities at this location. Their name appears because they were still a Registered Manager on our register at the time.

We did not speak with people directly at this visit but observed and listened to the interactions staff had with them instead. Many of the people at this home had memory problems that limited the ability of the inspector to converse directly with them about their experiences at the home. We observed people being attended to by staff. Staff asked for their permission in different situations or offered an alternative as required. People were seen being treated kindly and their needs were being met.

People were provided with their medicines when they needed them. Although, the system in place for checking medicines was not always adhered to. Staff at the home told us they worked long days we saw this was verified by the duty rota.

We observed people during the inspection. They looked comfortable in their surroundings. We found issues that had been dealt with at the last inspection were revisited. Some areas were not being met.

6 December 2012

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We visited this service with the local authority to check on the progress being made at this service.

We spoke with eight relative's about their opinion of the care provided and about staff at the home. Their comments included,

'I was contacted for information about my parent staff were interested in knowing about my parent's background and explained this would be useful when putting together a memory book. I am invited to take part in any reviews being held'.

'I am kept involved in my parent's life. I am asked my opinion about the care of my parent. I was sent a survey to complete in June 2012. I am invited to review meetings about my parent's care. I am advised of incidents and accident when they occur. I feel the staff at the home make a genuine effort to communicate with me'.

We observed a senior care worker administering medication during the lunch time and there were no concerns.

Three relative's told us staff always have plenty to do yet despite this they had never found the home to have mal odours. They told us the care workers and domestic staff worked hard together to keep the home clean and tidy. One relative told us, 'I can visit at any time of the day or night. It is a very friendly place'.

Relative's told us they were kept informed of changes to their relative's and were invited to attend meetings. They told us they were listened to.

10 August 2012

During a routine inspection

In order to gain the views of people using the service we spoke with two people using the service and three relatives. We used the Short Observational Framework for inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

One relative told us, 'staff are very good and they work hard to meet people's needs. I sometimes think that they do not seem to have enough staff on duty as when they provide care there is no one in the lounge area to oversee what is happening to the rest of the people who live here'.

Another relative told us, 'I find staff to be conscientious'.