Ashford Lodge Also known as 1-19173028272

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

The key question of Effective was rated Good at our last inspection and continues to be rated Good following this assessment. We found people were receiving support following Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture guidance. People’s needs were assessed, and their support plans were reviewed if their needs changed, people were referred to specialist healthcare professionals when required. Staff understood their responsibilities to make sure people were involved as much as possible in decision making and to record their preferences.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

There were processes in place to review people's support plans. Before people moved into the service, there was a formal process in place to assess the person's needs and how these would be supported. These meetings identified if staff required more training, how many staff were needed and if they could be supported safely within the service.

Staff told us how they observed people's body language and reported if they were expressing themselves differently, so their needs could be reviewed. Staff accompanied people to appointments such as blood tests on the day of our on site assessment. Staff described how they supported people to manage long term conditions and act appropriately to make people receive the support they need.

Relatives confirmed they had been invited to reviews of people's needs and had been involved in assessments. One relative told us, "We did have a meeting a couple of months ago." Another relative confirmed they had attended meetings with the management team to discuss their loved ones needs.

We did not look at Delivering evidence-based care and treatment during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

We did not look at How staff, teams and services work together during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

We did not look at Supporting people to live healthier lives during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

We did not look at Monitoring and improving outcomes during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

There was mixed feedback from relatives about how decisions about people's support were made. One relative told us they were unhappy with some of the decisions made. They did not feel they were always listened too and staff did not always follow their wishes, when they had legal authority to be consulted. Other relatives told us they were involved in making decisions for people where they lacked the capacity to do this. Relative’s told us staff kept them informed about their relatives needs and they were involved in making important decisions around the person’s care and treatment. Another relative told us how their loved one expressed their choices, "(Name) knows what they want. They can make their own decisions they point. If they want a cup of tea, they will take them to kitchen and points to it."

Staff understood their role in providing people with support to make decisions on a daily basis. Staff knew people well and recognised their non verbal communication and how they expressed their choices and preferences through the day. Staff described how they supported people and respected their decisions about how they wanted to spend their time. Some staff described how they did not always feel supported to follow people's wishes, when relatives were involved, and requested different choices.

There were systems in place to assess people's capacity and to make decisions in people's best interests. People's support plans contained information about how people make choices and how they express themselves. Support plans contain their likes and dislikes to assist staff to offer appropriate choices for people. Staff had applied for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLs) when needed. When these had been authorised this was recorded in people's support plans and used to develop strategies to support people in the least restrictive way.