We carried out an unannounced inspection of Ashmeade Residential Home on 20 and 21 January 2016.
Ashmeade Residential Home provides accommodation and personal care for up to 18 older people, including people living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 17 people living at the service.
Bedrooms at the home are located over two floors and a lift is available. Twelve rooms are single occupancy and three rooms are shared. Nine rooms have ensuite facilities. There are two lounges and a dining room on the ground floor and all rooms have wheelchair access. There are also suitably equipped toilet and bathroom facilities on each floor.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager at the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
At our last inspection on 8 August 2013, we found that all legal requirements were being met.
The people we spoke with at the home told us they felt safe. One person told us, “I always feel safe. The staff always come quickly if you need them”.
We saw evidence that staff had been recruited safely and the staff we spoke with had a good understanding of how to safeguard vulnerable adults from abuse and what action to take if they suspected abuse was taking place.
People were happy with the staffing levels at the service and during our inspection we found that staffing levels were appropriate to meet people’s needs.
There were appropriate policies and procedures in place for managing medicines and people told us they received their medicines when they should.
People were happy with the care provided at the home. One person told us, “It’s wonderful here. I’ve no complaints at all. The care couldn’t be better”.
We found that staff received appropriate support from the registered manager. They received an appropriate induction, regular supervision and could access training when they needed it.
Staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The service had taken appropriate action where people lacked the capacity to make decisions about their care.
People told us they were involved in decisions about their care. We saw evidence that where people lacked the mental capacity to make such decisions, their relatives were consulted.
The people we spoke with were happy with the food at the home and we saw that people were supported appropriately with their nutrition and hydration needs.
People were supported with their healthcare needs and were referred appropriately to a variety of health care services. Four healthcare professionals we spoke with, who visited the home regularly, were happy with the care being provided at the service.
The people we spoke with told us the staff at the service were caring and we saw staff treating people with kindness, affection and respect.
People told us staff respected their privacy and dignity and encouraged them to be independent.
People’s needs were responded to in a timely manner and we saw evidence that their needs were reviewed regularly.
A variety of activities were provided and people were encouraged to take part.
We saw evidence that the registered manager requested feedback about the service from the people living there, their relatives and from staff and used the feedback to make improvements to the service.
People living at the home and their relatives told us they felt the service was well managed and they felt able to raise any concerns with the registered manager.
We saw that the service had a clear mission statement which focused on providing people with high quality care and accommodation.
The staff and the registered manager communicated with people, their visitors and each other in a polite and professional manner.
We saw evidence that a variety of audits were completed regularly by the registered manager and were effective in ensuring that appropriate levels of care and safety at the home were achieved and maintained.