Ashington Grange

Updated 19 May 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Ashington Grange is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Ashington Grange is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority, Healthwatch and professionals who work with the service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 23 February 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people using the service. We spoke with seven members of staff including the area director, the registered manager, deputy manager, care workers and housekeeping. We viewed four people’s care plans and medicine records. We observed staff using PPE. We reviewed a range of records relating to the management of the service, including quality assurance records, safeguarding information and information on the safe management of infection control.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with seven relatives on the telephone.

Updated 19 May 2022

About the service

Ashington Grange is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 59 older people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 44 people using the service. People’s bedrooms were arranged over two floors with communal lounges and dining areas on each floor.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People and their relatives spoke positively about the service they received. Comments included, “The home was brilliant through Covid-19; we had to test, sanitise, and so on. The staff, bless them, were working extra with staff off but there was no drop in the care, the care is always there” and “I’m really happy within the home, there is always good care. I go in regularly. It’s totally safe, there are never any issues. [Relative] was like a different person when she went to Ashington Grange. Happy, chatty. There are no issues on safety. There are never any issues with the care. The staff are lovely.”

All staff understood their responsibility to keep people safe from harm. Systems to assess, monitor and manage risk were in place. Care plans contained information and guidance for staff on how best to support the person to minimise and manage risks.

There were enough staff to safely provide care and support. Safe recruitment processes were in place and followed.

Medicines were safely managed, and people received their medicines as prescribed.

People, their relatives and staff all had an opportunity to feedback and be engaged with the running of the home. “Resident Champions” were in place and played an active part in the running of the home.

Staff spoke positively about the registered manager. They felt listened to and could share their views on the running of the home and what this should look like. They felt the registered manager was both approachable and visible around the service.

Systems were in place to monitor the safety and quality of the service. Audits were completed and fed into a ‘home action plan’ which identified what actions were required and when they were subsequently completed. Actions had been taken to address the shortfalls identified at the last inspection.

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 this service was requires improvement (published 27 April 2021) and there were breaches of regulation. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We carried out an unannounced focused inspection of this service on 17 March 2021. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve their infection, prevention and control, risk management and governance systems to monitor the quality and safety of the service.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions safe and well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Ashington Grange on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.