18 January 2024
During a routine inspection
Ashbourne Care home is a residential care home providing personal care and accommodation for up to 38 people some of whom live with Dementia. The service was supporting 36 people at the time of the inspection. The service has 2 units a residential unit and a unit for people who live with Dementia.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Systems to monitor the quality and safety of the home were not always effective in identifying shortfalls and to drive improvements. Timely action was not always taken to address health, safety, and dignity issues within the service. Records were not always detailed and kept up to date to provide effective guidance to staff.
People were not always supported with their mobility in a safe way. Systems did not provide assurances people had received their medicines as required. Not all staff had completed core training for their role and staff competency was not always assessed to ensure they put their training into practice. Not all staff felt supported in their role.
People living on the dementia unit did not have the same opportunities and positive dining experiences as those living on the residential unit. People’s dignity and privacy was not always maintained. We have made a recommendation about the environment on the dementia unit.
Systems were in place to review incident and accidents, and action was taken to learn lessons from these. However staff working practices did not always reflect this. People were supported by staff who had been recruited safely and understood how to protect people from abuse. People had access to healthcare professionals to ensure their healthcare needs were monitored and met.
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.
People and those important to them, were involved in the initial pre- assessment process and were supported to provide feedback about the way the service was managed. People and their loved ones were happy with the service provided and felt able to approach staff and the registered manager.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was Good published March 2019.
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about medicines management, safeguarding concerns, moving and handling concerns, infection control, and the management of the home. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well led sections of this full report.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We have identified a breach in relation to the management of medicines and risk and the overall governance of the service. We have also made a recommendation in relation to the environment on the dementia unit. Please see the action we have told the provider to take in relation to the breaches 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.