Ashley Gardens Care Centre

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Care planning and delivery was person-centred and staff were knowledgeable about people’s personal support needs. This included communication needs and emotional or social needs. People were treated equally and respectfully by staff who knew them well. There were a range of activities offered to people depending on their preferences and adjustments were made for people who needed to or wanted to remain in their rooms.

This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

People told us they had been involved in developing and reviewing their care records and were supported to do as much from themselves as possible.

We saw staff supporting people in a person-centred way whilst respecting their wishes, for example, if people wanted care staff of a particular gender. Staff called people by their preferred names and communicated with them in the best way for the individual. Staff spoke to people at their own level, and showed patience during interactions.

Care plans and assessments were personalised for each person. Staff knew people well and so were able to support them in accordance with their individual needs and wishes. One staff member told us the culture in the service promoted person centred care, encouraging staff to value each person and respect what their choices and what they do and do not like.

People told us they had been involved in the development and review of their care records. People told us they saw professionals involved in their health when they needed to.

Staff always had access to people’s care plans and could refer to them any time they needed to. Assessments and care plans included peoples’ health care needs and there were details of healthcare professional’s visits in individual’s records. People's care records included detailed information of any relevant external health care professionals and the advice they had given.

Nurses and care staff had good knowledge of people’s healthcare needs and knew how to support them to achieve good outcomes. Each person had a baseline set of clinical parameter measures such as blood pressure, temperature, and pulse against which changes could be monitored. The management team tried to ensure continuity of care by allocating the same care staff to each floor, which enabled people and staff to get to know each other.

The local GP surgery told us they were in regular contact with the service and visited weekly to support people’s health needs. A health care professional told us they felt there had been positive improvements made since the new management team started and said the staff team were informative and knew people and their health needs well.

Staff told us they had up to date information about the people they were supporting as they had access to people’s care plans and risk assessments. Staff were updated on any changes at handover meetings at the start of each shift. Staff told us notes and outcomes from meetings were shared with them.

The service was in the process of introducing electronic care records to make access easier for people and relatives. Electronic care records also supported staff to ensure documentation took place at the point of care delivery. Electronic records would be accessible on password protected devices with access limited only to those who needed access. Current paper records were stored in locked cabinets to protect people’s personal information.

Staff told us they knew people well and felt people’s care records were detailed. Staff spoke about how people’s views were sought and acted on through daily ‘resident of the day meetings’ and through regular reviews.

People were involved in the development and review of their care. People told us that staff knew them well and knew what they liked. Comments included, “They know me very well and I can tell them what I like” and, “I think they know me well.” People’s views were sought through regular meetings were feedback was listened to and acted on.

A clinical governance meeting was held every month. Daily head of department meetings took place, daily clinical meeting with the nurses. Monthly nutrition meeting with the chef, quarterly residents meeting with the activity team. Health and safety meetings took place quarterly. Surveys and newsletters were sent out to gather people's feedback.

Staff told us they felt that the management team were supportive and approachable. Staff told us they enjoyed their role and found it very rewarding. Comments included, “I'm proud that I do a job where I care for people who don't have capacity to look after themselves, it's very rewarding” and, “I really love my job I'm very comfortable with residents.”

People were supported to access a wide range of health and care services. We received positive feedback from external healthcare professionals regarding the health needs of people using the service. The local GP surgery told us they were in regular contact with the service and visited weekly to support people’s health needs.

Audits and checks were made by the clinical team regarding people’s wounds, weights, accidents and incidents, skin integrity and any lessons learnt. A monthly clinical meeting was held with the heads of Department as well as a nutritional meeting with the heads of departments for example, nurses, clinical lead and the chef to discuss any issues or concerns relating to people’s nutrition or hydration intake and action they would take if there were any concerns identified.

People told us their health needs were met by staff and nurses who understood their health needs comments from people included, “They look after me very well I am diabetic” and, “Overall (staff) are very good.”

The activity team met regularly with people to get their views on what was working well and what needed to be improved. They sought feedback from people about any new activities people might like to try. Staff encouraged people to become involved in planning seasonal events, such as, Easter.

There was a good range of activities on offer and the activity staff knew what people liked to do. They encouraged people to get involved and adapted activities to meet the needs of people who were cared for in bed. Outings were arranged when the weather permitted and there were opportunities for people to attend religious services. Each person had an activities journal which was completed by the activities team to a high standard and contained details of interactions and activities people had been involved in.

There were multiple directional signs around the service which included words and pictures and signs on communal rooms such as bathrooms and toilets. There was an activity planner displayed on the wall and people knew where to find information about the activities on offer. People’s rooms were personalised with their own furniture, pictures, ornaments, bed covers and cushions. Memory boxes were displayed outside of people’s bedroom’s to support and aid people in identifying their room.

We did not look at Planning for the future during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.