17 November 2022
During a routine inspection
About the service
Ashington Gardens is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to four people. The service can support up to six people. The service was a detached bungalow with a garden, near to the town. People had their own bedrooms and bathrooms. There were shared eating and living areas.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support:
Risks to people were not always assessed, monitored and managed safely. Systems in place did not always protect people from abuse and improper treatment. Staff did not always have the right support to make sure they were confident and had the right skills and experience to meet people’s needs safely and effectively. People’s medicine support was not being managed safely. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. The service was clean and hygienic. There were safe recruitment practices. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did support this practice.
Right Care:
People’s relatives gave us mixed feedback about how involved and engaged they were with planning people’s support or developing the service, to help people achieve good outcomes. People had not always been supported to assess or plan their care in personalised ways, which had affected their health and well-being. People had support to take part in activities they enjoyed at home and in the wider community. People communicated with people in the way they preferred and treated them with dignity and respect.
Right Culture:
Leaders and the culture they created did not always support the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care. Internal quality assurance systems and processes to maintain and develop the safety and quality of care were not always operating effectively. Staff and relatives said there had been a poor culture, with a lack of open communication and staff not always working well together having a negative impact on the delivery of good care. People told us they were happy living at the service. People’s and staff members equality and diversity and human rights were promoted and respected.
The provider was aware of the need for improvements and was committed to providing the necessary resources to make this happen as quickly as possible
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 April 2019).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by whistleblowing concerns raised about people’s safety.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection. We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement. Please see the safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led sections of this full report.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We have identified breaches in relation to person-centred care, risk management, abuse, governance and staffing at this inspection.
Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.
Follow up
We will ask the provider to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.