Care Home: Ascot House

What the care home does well There is a calm atmosphere in the home and the staff were assisting the residents in a way that was both friendly and supportive. Residents were undertaking a number of activities and relatives were positive about the way that their family were being care for. The Manager has arranged a number of opportunities for the staff to undertake training. This has been in a number of clinical areas including medication, dementia and medical conditions. On the day of the visit two staff were attending a training course on challenging behaviour. Residents were dressed appropriately and looked clean and comfortable. The home is generally clean and the bedrooms are well personalised. What the care home could do better: There was an unpleasant odour in the entrance of the home, this was localised and visiting professionals and relatives confirmed that this was not usual. The manager agreed to look at the cause for this and deal with it. There is a "snoozlem" in the entrance which is usually used for individual residents as part of their care programme. During the visit there were four residents in this "alcove" and it was not clear if they would receive any benefit from the facility. The decoration in the home is now shabby and both the communal areas and the residents bedrooms are in need of re-decoration. There are a number of items of furniture also in need of replacement although some have been replaced this needs to be reviewed. Random inspection report Care homes for older people Name: Address: Ascot House 28 - 36 Wingrove Road Fenham Newcastle Upon Tyne Tyne & Wear NE4 9BQ two star good service The quality rating for this care home is: The rating was made on: A quality rating is our assessment of how well a care home, agency or scheme is meeting the needs of the people who use it. We give a quality rating following a full review of the service. We call this review a ‘key’ inspection. This is a report of a random inspection of this care home. A random inspection is a short, focussed review of the service. Details of how to get other inspection reports for this care home, including the last key inspection report, can be found on the last page of this report. Lead inspector: Suzanne McKean Date: 0 1 0 9 2 0 1 0 Information about the care home Name of care home: Address: Ascot House 28 - 36 Wingrove Road Fenham Newcastle Upon Tyne Tyne & Wear NE4 9BQ 01912721020 01912725171 sheilahead@caringhomes.org.uk Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address: Name of registered provider(s): Name of registered manager (if applicable) Mr Michael Cave Type of registration: Number of places registered: Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : Ascot House Care Home Limited care home 35 Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 35 dementia Conditions of registration: 0 One resident is under pensionable age, within the DE category. Date of last inspection Brief description of the care home Ascot House is a 35 place care home with nursing providing care for older people with dementia. Care in the home is provided by Registered Mental Nurses supported by care staff. The home is owned and managed by Caring Homes Ltd a national provider of care to vulnerable client groups. The home is situated in Wingrove Road in the west of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne close to local shops and good public transport links. The building is on four floors, the basement being staff and office accommodation and the upper three floors being residents? accommodation. Some bedrooms have en-suite Care Homes for Older People Page 2 of 9 Brief description of the care home facilities. There are a number of lounges and dining rooms on the ground floor. The current fees are between #365 and #400. A service user guide and statement of purpose for the home is available. A brochure and inspection reports are also available. Care Homes for Older People Page 3 of 9 What we found: The quality rating for this service is two star. This means the people who use this service experience good quality outcomes. The quality rating of the home was not under review at this inspection. We have reviewed our practice when making requirements. Some requirements from previous inspection reports may have been deleted or carried forward to this report as recommendations. This will only happen when it is considered that people who use the service are not being put at significant risk of harm. In future, if a requirement is repeated, it is likely that enforcement action will be taken. The last key unannounced inspection of the home was on 19th May 2008. We undertook this random inspection to follow up requirements made at a previous random inspection. As we had concerns at the last inspection we wrote a warning letter to the company. This was to tell them that what shortfalls we had found, what action was required to put these right, and that we would take enforcement action should they continue to fail to address these. We found good progress with all of the requirements addressed. Before the visit we looked at information we received since the last visit to the home. This includes how the service dealt with any complaints, changes to how the home is run, the views of people who use the service and the managers views of how well they care for people. During the visit we talked with people who use the service, some staff and the acting manager. We focused mostly on the issues that were identified at the last inspection visit. We also looked at the previous requirements and recommendations to see if these had been met. We looked at some of the occupied bedrooms and all of the communal areas, all of these areas were clean, and tidy, and well personalised. The majority of people were up and about. Some people in the lounge area and others were in their rooms. They all looked well, clean and comfortable. People who use the service said It is nice here and the food is really nice, we get lots and we can have more if we want also a relative said that the staff are lovely. The staffing levels at the time of the visit for a total of nineteen people, some of which require nursing care was, one nurse and three care staff. Deployment of the staff was discussed with the acting manager. The home has a registered manager, however he is not currently working in the home. A temporary, acting manager is responsible for Ascot House. She is the Registered Manager of another home in the company. The acting manager appeared competent and has good knowledge of the operation of the home and service users needs. There is improved direction and good leadership and as a result the care being delivered has improved. The chef has received training in nutrition for the elderly and special diets such as fortified foods, and residents were very positive about the food being offered. There was no evidence of any residents loosing weight over a period of time without intervention by staff. The range of activities has been improved and there is an activities co-ordinator employed who works 9am till 1pm Monday to Friday. We observed some flexible routines Care Homes for Older People Page 4 of 9 such as people choosing to get up later and being offered breakfast and drinks throughout the morning. Personal choices and support with making decisions was offered. There remains some damaged bedroom furniture, although some has been replaced. Overall there are a number of areas in the home that needs to be redecorated and refurbished. The dining room is poorly decorated and does not offer a very pleasant place for residents to eat their meals. The staff have all received additional training that reflects best practice guidelines in medication administration except for the new member of the nursing team who has been in post for three weeks and is currently undertaking her induction. The temperature of the fridge and medication room is now regularly monitored and good records are in place to show the action taken if there is a problem. There is now an air conditioning unit in the room. The medication policy has been updated in line with current guidance and practice and this is available in the medication / treatment room and in the office. The staff are now ensuring that where residents need to be given medication in private it is being carried out in their own rooms or in a private area. What the care home does well: What they could do better: If you want to know what action the person responsible for this care home is taking Care Homes for Older People Page 5 of 9 following this report, you can contact them using the details set out on page 2. Care Homes for Older People Page 6 of 9 Are there any outstanding requirements from the last inspection? Yes £ No R Outstanding statutory requirements These are requirements that were set at the previous inspection, but have still not been met. They say what the registered person had to do to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Care Homes for Older People Page 7 of 9 Requirements and recommendations from this inspection: Immediate requirements: These are immediate requirements that were set on the day we visited this care home. The registered person had to meet these within 48 hours. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Statutory requirements These requirements set out what the registered person must do to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must do this within the timescales we have set. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action 1 19 23 A programme of redecoration 13/10/2010 and re-refurbishment must be developed with realistic timescales. This must be submitted to the CQC and then implemented. This will make sure that the residents have a pleasant safe and comfortable place to live. Recommendations These recommendations are taken from the best practice described in the National Minimum Standards and the registered person(s) should consider them as a way of improving their service. No Refer to Standard Good Practice Recommendations 1 8 It is recommended that the way that the snoozelm is provided is reviewed so that the residents gain the maximum benefit from the facility. The programme of social activities should be developed in a way that is individually focused and the records of this should be detailed and consistently maintained. 2 12 Care Homes for Older People Page 8 of 9 Reader Information Document Purpose: Author: Audience: Further copies from: Inspection Report Care Quality Commission General Public 0870 240 7535 (telephone order line) Our duty to regulate social care services is set out in the Care Standards Act 2000. Copies of the National Minimum Standards –Care Homes for Older People can be found at www.dh.gov.uk or got from The Stationery Office (TSO) PO Box 29, St Crispins, Duke Street, Norwich, NR3 1GN. Tel: 0870 600 5522. 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