Archived: Ashton House Nursing Home

We visited this provider and spoke to a variety of people including staff, a visiting general practitioner, a visiting social worker and people who lived in the home.

People were involved in decision making regarding their care and treatment. They were encouraged to express their opinions, preferences and views.

People had up to date care plans and risk assessments that were regularly reviewed and that met their support needs.

We found that staff received annual safeguarding training and had a good understanding of their responsibilities regarding this.

We saw that there was a safe system for the provision and storage of medications in place.

We found that the provider had an adequate number of skilled staff in order to provide individualised care. All staff received regular training and were well supported. We saw that staff had appropriate qualifications and experience in order to meet the care needs of the people.

The provider had systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service people received.

During the day we talked with six people living in the home with whom we could have conversations; three relatives; and 14 staff. This included two managers and senior management. People spoke highly of the care given and said that they liked living in the home. People's comments included: 'I am very comfortable here; all the staff are friendly and kind'; 'We are definitely looked after very well'; and 'I am very happy with everything here.' A relative said 'The staff here are the best, and the standard of care is unbelievably good.'

Staff spoke positively about their roles, and we saw that they worked well together as a team.

We found that the staff ensured that people's ongoing health needs were met, and contacted other health professionals as appropriate.

The home had staff training and appropriate arrangements in place for safeguarding vulnerable people.

Medication management was satisfactory except that one storage cupboard needed reviewing.

We found there were reliable processes in place to keep staff training up to date.

The home had ongoing systems for monitoring the progress of the home, and for obtaining people's views.