Aspen Court

Updated 26 March 2019

We carried out this comprehensive inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on the 19 and 20 February 2019 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of two inspectors and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information the provider sent to us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed information we held about the service which included notifications of events and incidents at the service. We planned the inspection using this information.

During the inspection we spoke with eight people, seven relatives and met with a further six who were attending a monthly relatives meeting. We also spoke with two registered nurses, three care workers, the activities coordinator, the registered manager, the company’s compliance manager, the chef and a member of the domestic staff.

We looked at four people's care records and people's medicines administration records. We also reviewed five staff employment records and other records relating to the management of the service including complaints records, health and safety information, and the provider's quality assurance systems. We carried out a specific observation of people’s experiences at mealtimes, general observation of how staff provided care to people and looked at most parts of the premises.

Updated 26 March 2019

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection on the 19 and 20 February 2019.

Aspen Court is a care home with nursing for up to 42 people. On the day of our inspection there were 39 people using the service. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

At the last inspection in August 2016, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

Why the service remains Good:

Risks to people were reduced because there were care records in place which provided guidance to staff on how to keep people safe. Staff were trained on safeguarding adults from abuse and knew the procedures to follow to report abuse and to protect people. There were sufficient staff to meet people's needs and recruitment checks were conducted before new staff were employed. A few employment records did not explain what staff were doing between jobs.

People or their relatives gave consent to the care and support they received. The service complied with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Relatives and healthcare professionals were involved in making decisions for people but the records did not show how staff had arrived at best interests decisions.

People and their relatives were very complimentary about the staff and their caring attitude. People were observed to be treated with kindness and compassion by the staff. However, we also saw incidences where the staff were carrying out their duties in supporting people to meet their needs rather than using a person-centred approach.

Care records were updated and reviewed to reflect people’s changing needs. Staff we spoke with demonstrated a good understanding of people’s needs.

Activities and events were organised to make them meaningful for people using the service. Staff worked with individual people or in groups and there were a range of events outside the home. Concerns and complaints were managed effectively with a clear process in place.

Clear leadership and monitoring systems enabled the service to identify good practices and areas for improvement. People, relatives and staff said the registered manager was approachable and made themselves available to speak with them. The service collected people’s and relative’s views on their experiences of the care provided so that further improvements could be made. The registered manager was developing new ways of linking the service with their local community.