Archived: Ashwood Court

Ashwood Court is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 30 people. The service provides support to people who may be living with a dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 30 people using the service.

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

People and their relatives were very positive about the care provided. People told us they felt safe and staff had the skills to support them. Relatives provided positive examples of how staff had helped improve people’s lives since moving to the home.

Staff were safely recruited and received an induction followed by on-going training from the provider. Training was monitored and staff were supported with regular meetings and supervisions. Staffing levels were appropriate and met people’s needs.

People and relatives were involved in every stage of care planning. People had personalised care plans and staff were delivering person-centered care.

The registered manager had an effective quality assurance system which included regular audits and checks. These were used to identify any areas for improvement.

Staff ensured people living at the home were happy. Staff found ways to promote people’s independence, their passions and personal interests. People, relatives, staff and professionals were offered opportunities to provide feedback about the care provided at the home.

The service was following infection prevention and control procedures to keep people safe

Medicines were managed safely. Risks to people were assessed and action was taken to reduce the chances of them occurring. The registered manager acted on feedback immediately. People were safeguarded from abuse.

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 supported this practice.

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 the service under the previous provider was requires improvement, published on 10 April 2019.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

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.

The provider was facilitating visits for people who used the service safely. There was a designated visiting area which was cleaned between each visit. Some people were supported to keep in touch with their families through video calls.

The service was very clean. Additional cleaning was being carried out on frequent touch points such as grab rails and door handles.

People were encouraged to social distance. Lounges and dining rooms had been set out with space between people. Staff worked on specific floors to help minimise the transmission of infection between floors.

Specific risk assessments were in place for some people to help support their mental health needs while isolating with COVID-19.

Staff wore their PPE correctly. Staff were able to explain the process for putting on and removing PPE in the safest way to minimise the spread of infection. Infection control training was up to date.

We found the following examples of good practice:

• Appropriate measures were in place at the entrance and inside the home to prevent visitors from spreading infection. All visitors were required to wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and follow good hand hygiene practices.

• PPE was appropriately stored, used and disposed of. Staff had undertaken additional training in infection prevention and control and regular audits were carried out.

• The environment was very clean, with enhanced cleaning taking place of frequently touched surfaces.

• Some minor changes had been made to the layout of furniture to encourage and support social distancing.

• People were supported to keep in touch with their family members via video or telephone calls. The provider had developed ways to safely support visits in line with the latest guidance.

• The provider was following national guidance for anyone moving into the home and admissions were carried out safely.