Ashgrove Nursing Home is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The provider is registered to provide accommodation and nursing care for up to 57 people, including older people. People live in two separate units, Ashgrove and Coppice. The provider provides care for people with dementia, some of whom are supported in Coppice. At the time of our inspection there were 45 people living at the home.
The inspection was undertaken on 18 and 23 May 2018. .
There was a registered manager in post and they were present during this inspection. 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 previous inspection on the 27 January 2017 the provider had an overall rating of ‘requires improvement.’ At this inspection the provider had achieved an overall rating of ‘good’ as they had made significant improvements.
People told us they felt safe when staff supported them with their needs and staff applied their training when using equipment to ensure people were safe and comfortable. Staff practices were consistent in monitoring people’s care needs so risks to people from avoidable harm were reduced. The registered manager kept staffing arrangements under review to ensure people’s needs were supported in a safe and timely manner. Recruitment checks had been completed before new staff were appointed to make sure they were suitable to work with people who lived at the home.
People were happy with the support they received from staff when taking their medicines as prescribed. Staff practices around the administration and management of people’s medicines reduced the risks of people not receiving their medicines as prescribed to meet their health needs.
Staff received and induction and on-going training to meet the specific needs of people who lived at the home. People were supported to stay well and had access to health care services and enjoyed their mealtime experiences with the registered manager ensuring staff’s main focus at mealtimes was the care needs of people.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies, procedures and staff training supported this least restrictive practice.
People appreciated the support they received to make their individual rooms as homely as possible. The physical environment and facilities in the home reflected people's requirements with redecoration on-going to enhance people’s wellbeing. Systems were in place to ensure effective infection prevention and control.
People felt staff were caring towards them and staff had developed respectful relationships with people. People’s privacy and dignity were respected by staff who enjoyed their work and wanted to provide people with the best possible outcomes. People were given encouragement to make their own decisions about their day to day care when they needed it. People's rights to dignity and privacy was understood and acted upon by staff.
People were provided with fun and interesting things to do although the registered manager had identified plans for further improvements to support people with dementia. Staff provided end of life care in a sensitive and centred on each person.
People who lived at the home and their relatives were supported by the management and staff team to raise any complaints they had. The registered provider had a complaints procedure which included investigating and taking action when complaints were received.
The management team had established a positive open culture where staff were clear about their responsibilities and continued to have learning opportunities.
The registered manager had made every effort to bring about the improvements required and had done this by effectively developing and regularly assessing and monitoring the quality of care. This ethos had continually driven improvements to the care experiences of people, which reflected the registered manager and registered provider were committed to provide high quality care.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.