30 June 2022
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Aspen Place is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 52 people. The service provides support to younger and older adults who live with physical disabilities and people living with dementia or learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 50 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and relatives told us there was not always enough staff. One person told us, “They tell you to ring the bell. The wait times varies.” Relatives gave examples of their concerns about staff responses to call bells. Their comments included, “I did press the buzzer in an area out of the room and no one came for quite a while.” And “There are normally enough staff but at weekends it seems lower.” The provider was in the process of monitoring staffing levels to ensure people received timely support.
People’s care was not always person-centred. Some people had limited opportunities to take part in activities and were reliant on staff to facilitate this.
We have made a recommendation about expanding the adaptions within the environment to support people living with dementia.
People had their health care needs met. Some healthcare professionals spoke positively about how the staff had engaged with them but in some situations, visiting professionals spoke of potential delays in contacting community healthcare professionals.
Monitoring audits had not always identified concerns about person centred care or the feedback from some healthcare professionals.
People and their relatives told us they felt safe and were cared for by staff who knew them well. One relative told us, “I do know who to report to if we felt that my [loved one] was unsafe.”
People received their medicines as prescribed and medicines were managed safely. Accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns were reported and investigated as required and actions taken to prevent reoccurrence. People were protected from the risk of abuse and staff were aware of their safeguarding duties and how to report concerns.
People were supported by staff who had completed training in line with people’s needs. Staff were recruited safely and received supervision where opportunities to develop and feedback about their practice were discussed. 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 this service was good (published 09 May 2019)
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the experiences of people living in the dementia unit and pressure area care. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe, effective and well led section of this full report.
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.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Aspen Place on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.
We have identified breaches in relation to person centred care and governance at this inspection.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do 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