10 July 2011
During a routine inspection
We spoke to ten people when we visited the hospital. We were told by people staying at the hospital and by their relatives about what they thought of the service. Some of the things they told us included:
"I get much better care here than I would have done in the other hospital. People take the time to get to know you, and you see the same staff. I would recommend it to other people if they had to come to hospital.'
'If you have to be in hospital this seems better than most. The food is good and it is very clean."
"(My relative) is being very well looked after, and I am very happy with her care. The staff are lovely and really dedicated".
Another person said ''staff are very professional but at the same time friendly, they all work together as a team, this is a happy place to be when you don't feel 100 percent'.
People we spoke to told us they enjoy the meals and were completely satisfied with the food served at Ashburton hospital. The trust was working hard to meet people's individual dietary needs and food preferences.
People are supported to make decisions and to consent to their care and treatment but this was not consistently recorded. There was some poor recording about people's decisions on whether they were to receive emergency treatment. This was putting people at risk of receiving treatment they did not want.
All the people we spoke to during this visit told us they were well cared for by all the staff and they felt safe and secure at Ashburton hospital. We were told that the staff were competent, attentive and caring.
The staff team had a good knowledge of people's needs. However we found that assessments, care plans and risk assessments were not individualised or comprehensive.
On the day of our visit all areas of the hospital were very clean and free of odour, and people confirmed to us that this was always the case.
People told us that they knew how to complain about their care or treatment and felt comfortable to do so if the need arose.