Care Home: Ashwood Park Residential Care Home

What the care home does well . What the care home could do better: Although all of the regulatory Requirements from the last inspection have now been met, European Care should continue to improve the overall quality of care and consistency of support at the home. Random inspection report Care homes for older people Name: Address: Ashwood Park Residential Care Home Seaside Lane Easington Colliery Peterlee County Durham SR8 3XZ one star adequate service 22/12/2009 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: Steve Tuck Date: 2 4 0 6 2 0 1 0 Information about the care home Name of care home: Address: Ashwood Park Residential Care Home Seaside Lane Easington Colliery Peterlee County Durham SR8 3XZ 01915273300 01915273360 Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address: www europeancare co uk Name of registered provider(s): Name of registered manager (if applicable) European Care (England) Ltd Type of registration: Number of places registered: Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : care home 65 Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 0 65 dementia old age, not falling within any other category Conditions of registration: 65 0 The maximum number of service users who can be accommodated is : 65 The registered person may provide the following category of service only: Care Home with Nursing - Code N to service users of the following gender: Either, whose primary care needs on admission to the home are within the following categories: Old age, not falling within any other catgegory - Code OP - maximum number of places: 65, Dementia - Code DE - maximum number of places: 65 Date of last inspection 2 2 1 2 2 0 0 9 Care Homes for Older People Page 2 of 10 Brief description of the care home Ashwood Park is a purpose-built home that provides residential care for 65 people over the age of 65 years The accommodation is within two main units The home is registered for 35 residential care places for older people, and 35 residential care places for older people with dementia care needs The home has been operating for about 9 years It was purchased in November 2007 by European Care Limited, which is a large national company that operates many care services throughout the country Ashwood Park shares the site with Birchwood Court, another residential care home owned by European Care Limited The homes driveway is well kept with several parking spaces and access to colourful gardens with seating areas All bedrooms are single occupancy with en-suite facilities There is a good range of lounges and dining areas throughout the home, including a small library room There is level access into the home, and the wide corridors and a passenger lift ensure that people who use a wheelchair can access all areas of the building The single storey dementia care unit is built in a square design with a central garden patio area that offers a safe, private environment for residents to sit in The home is situated off the main street that runs through the centre of the village All local facilities are within easy reach At the time of this inspection the weekly fees were £434 50 to £455 50 The weekly fees for people who are privately funded are £490 to £505 65 the higher rate is for people assessed as having dementia care needs Items not covered by the fees include chiropody, hairdressing, toiletries and clothing The actual fees paid depends on individuals circumstances Please contact the home for further details Care Homes for Older People Page 3 of 10 What we found: Before this random inspection visit: We looked at: Information we have received since the last Key Inspection in December 2009 The Improvement Plan that the provider drew up which said what they would do to meet the legal requirements of the last Inspection How the service has dealt with any complaints and concerns since the last visit Any changes to how the service is run The providers view of how well they care for people The visit: An unannounced visit was made on 24th June 2010 During this visit we: Looked at information about the people who use the service and how well their needs are met Looked at other records which must be kept Checked that staff had knowledge, skills and training to meet the needs of the people they care for Checked what improvements had been made since the last visit We told the acting manager what we found at the end of the visit Choice of Home: Everyone who lives at the home has had an assessment carried out so that staff and the manager can agree the support that they will need and make sure that the home is a suitable place to meet their needs Although there had been no people recently admitted all of the care plan records that were examined had completed assessments from healthcare or social workers and the acting manager had used the European Care standard assessment This home does not provide short term support and rehabilitation for people who are recovering from serious illness or injury Health and Personal Care: Care Homes for Older People Page 4 of 10 Everyone who lives at the home now has a care plan and we looked at thirteen of them The home uses European Cares standard documents to record each persons individual assessment and to find out about the service users care needs This covers a range of health and personal care needs as well as finding out about the persons life history Examples include mobility, eating and drinking, continence, and sleeping as well finding out about the persons cultural needs, for example their lifestyle and religious beliefs Where health or personal care needs have been identified a supporting care plan has been written For some areas a risk assessment is developed to make sure that people are protected from unnecessary risks Those we looked at provided staff with up-to-date information which is reviewed and evaluated at least monthly; although some of the plans had more detail in them than others This provides staff with a meaningful picture of how someones needs are being met and any changes that have taken place Risk assessments include nutrition and pressure area care but can also be for any other area where a need has been identified Attempts had been made to use risk assessments and care plans in a way that places the person at the centre of this process although the acting manager said that she planned to improve these and European Care are to start training staff This means that they are written in a way which describes the individual service users needs and preferences We looked in detail at the way that the home makes sure that people who have Dementia type illness are supported to maintain a healthy diet All care plans show that staff are checking that peoples nutrition is sufficient and care staff who were interviewed demonstrated their role in making sure that a referral was made to a dietitian or doctor when this is required Examination of care plan records showed that on one record there was a minor error (which did not place anyone at risk) and that the homes procedure did not say that checks should be increased if staff noticed that someone had lost weight; although this had been taking place in practice It was noted that records were not consistently in one unit of measurement (metric or imperial) which could lead to staff having difficulty recording weight gain or loss The acting manager said that she would advise staff and alter the homes procedure There are plans in place for people who need support with an altered sense of time because of their dementia type illness This provided staff with information about the best way to support this person, including the use of therapeutic techniques and also the importance of checking to make sure the person is not in pain Improvements in the way that staff at the home store and administer medication has started to reduce the number of mistakes that are made The new acting manager and nurse in charge are now responsible for making sure that all medication at the home is stored and administered properly and there is a way of checking that mistakes have not been made We spent time observing how staff supported service users We found that staff were very respectful in their approach, treating the service users with dignity and respect Nobody was rushed and staff got down to the service users level when talking to them and referred to them by their chosen name Daily Life and Social Activities: Care Homes for Older People Page 5 of 10 We looked at the menus and spoke to staff and the acting manager about the meals that are served at the home There is a choice of main meal and pudding and staff are available to support people during meals Where people have particular dietary preferences or nutritional needs, these are catered for by the cook Additional meals and snacks are available and refreshments were offered throughout the day Some people have nutritional supplements prescribed by their doctor to help them to maintain a healthy diet Complaints and Protection: Since the last Inspection in December 2009, there have been no new complaints which have not been dealt with by the manager or senior manager by following European Cares complaints procedure The staff we spoke to confirmed that they had had training about safeguarding adults and knew what to do should they witness or suspect abuse and there have been no incidences since the last inspection where it has been shown that the staff and manager have failed to make sure that people living at the home are protected Environment: The home was clean, well maintained with no unpleasant odours One relative told us that the replacement television for the first floor had been delayed so she had contacted the regional manager about it Staffing: We looked at the number of staff available to support the needs of people currently living in the downstairs annex All the people in this part of the home have Dementia type illness and are well supported by sufficient, suitably qualified and experienced staff Management: European Care have informed us that a temporary management arrangement is in place There have been two previous acting managers at the home although senior managers at European Care have made significant efforts to recruit someone with the skills and attributes to be able to successfully develop the service A temporary management arrangement has been put in placed whereby two experienced managers and the area manager have been based at the home for agreed days of the week Meanwhile a candidate has been chosen to fill the vacancy on a permanent basis and is currently awaiting background checks to be completed The appointment of managers who are experienced and have proved track records in improving and problem solving has helped to oversee the improvements in quality and safety at the home following the last Inspection in December 2009 and the implementation of the Improvement Plan which was set out by European Care senior managers Considerable work has taken place since December 2009 to improve the quality, safety and reliability of the service The acting manager confirmed that regular Regulation 26 visits take place where the running of the home is scrutinised and staff confirmed that they receive regular Care Homes for Older People Page 6 of 10 supervisions There is a process in place for monitoring the occurrence of accidents and incidents in order to prevent them from happening again And the organisation also monitors any accidents at the home to help to make sure that people living and working there are safe There is an internal audit system where the manager carries out checks of medication, care plans, complaints,etc The regional manager then verifies this audit 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 following this report, you can contact them using the details set out on page 2 Care Homes for Older People Page 7 of 10 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 8 of 10 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 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 2 8 8 The same units of measurement should be used to record service users weight or height and help avoid mistakes Peoples weight should be checked more often where they have had a significant change or are at an increased risk of poor nutrition Care Homes for Older People Page 9 of 10 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 Online ordering from the Stationery Office is also available: www tso co uk/bookshop Helpline: Telephone: 03000 616161 Email: enquiries@cqc org uk Web: www cqc org uk We want people to be able to access this information If you would like a summary in a different format or language please contact our helpline or go to our website © Care Quality Commission 2010 This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part in any format or medium for noncommercial purposes, provided that it is reproduced accurately and not used in a derogatory manner or in a misleading context The source should be acknowledged, by showing the publication title and © Care Quality Commission 2010 Care Homes for Older People Page 10 of 10 - Please note that this information is included on www.bestcarehome.co.uk under license from the regulator. 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