8 January 2021
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Ashton Court provides personal care to older people with a range of support needs, including dementia. It accommodates up to 24 people, and 14 were using the service at the time of the inspection.
People’s experience of using this service:
We identified infection control systems could be improved in the home. All the staff we spoke with confirmed they had received infection control training, however, we observed staff were not consistently using personal protective equipment (PPE) correctly. The registered manager told us that visitors were screened on arrival to manage the risks associated with the current COVID-19 pandemic, however, we had to prompt staff on our arrival for this to be undertaken.
We have made a recommendation in relation to the management of infection control.
The registered manager undertook a range of audits, although we identified these were not always effective. For example, the care plan audits had not identified some of the areas requiring improvement.
We have made a recommendation that the robustness of governance systems is improved, so that they contribute effectively to service improvement.
People gave us positive feedback about the home. One person’s relative described the home as “ten out of ten.” People receiving care appeared to be happy, and staff knew their needs well.
People were supported by staff who were deployed in sufficient numbers to meet their needs. Staff were aware of how to safeguard people from abuse and had received training about how to recognise and respond to concerns.
Medicines were managed in a safe way, with detailed record keeping and safe storage.
Rating at last inspection:
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published November 2019).
The service remains rated requires improvement. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last two consecutive inspections.
Why we inspected:
This was a planned focussed inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. As this was a focussed inspection, we reviewed the key questions of safe and well led only. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has not changed.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk