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CQC report explained · a residential care home, run by Alysia Caring (Aspen Manor)

Aspen Manor Care Home

Barleythorpe Road, Oakham, LE15 6GL

Goodpublished 18 September 2024, 23 months ago

Rated Good: inspectors found the service performing well and meeting their expectations.

The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, February 2024

Rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found risks in care, medicines, infection control and management systems.

This was an unannounced focused inspection on 1 November 2023. Inspectors looked only at Safe and Well-led. They spoke with people, relatives, staff and a healthcare professional, observed care, and checked care records, medicines records, staff files and management records.

Inspectors found that people were not always supported to drink enough or change position to protect their skin. Medicines records were not always accurate. Some infection control practices were unsafe, and staffing arrangements did not always give staff confidence that enough people would be available when there were absences.

The home’s checks and audits did not identify or fix these problems. Safe and Well-led were both rated Requires Improvement. The overall rating changed from Good at the previous inspection, published in June 2023. The incident that prompted this inspection was not examined and remains subject to further CQC investigation.

What inspectors praised

  • Kind responses

    Staff responded professionally and compassionately when people became distressed or verbally aggressive.

    “We observed staff reacting to verbal aggression in a professional way with a kind and compassionate approach.” from the report

  • Recruitment checks

    The provider used recruitment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

    “The provider operated safe recruitment processes. Recruitment checks were undertaken including checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).” from the report

  • Positive views of the manager

    People, relatives and staff gave positive feedback about the registered manager.

    “People, relatives and staff were positive about the registered manager.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about

  • Known risks were not always managed

    serious

    Records showed gaps in support and monitoring for food, drinks and repositioning. This included people at risk of dehydration, malnutrition or pressure sores.

    “People did not always receive timely and effective support to manage known risks.” from the report

  • Weak management checks

    serious

    Audits were being completed but did not find or correct problems with care monitoring, care plans, medicines and infection control.

    “The provider had not operated an effective system to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service provided.” from the report

  • Medicines records

    needs fixing

    Medicine stock records contained errors. One as-required medicine did not have a protocol, and fridge temperature records did not show the minimum and maximum temperatures.

    “We found errors in medicine stock quantities and records which meant medicines were not accurately accounted for.” from the report

  • Infection control practices

    needs fixing

    Some equipment was stored in a communal bathroom, creating a risk of spreading infection. Cleaning schedules were not always checked by managers.

    “We saw equipment such as hoists, hoist slings and a trolley with continence aids and wipes on were stored in a communal bathroom.” from the report

  • Staffing cover

    needs fixing

    Staff said contingency plans did not always work effectively when there were short-notice absences. Rotas showed occasions when staffing numbers were low.

    “Staff did not feel confident contingency plans were implemented effectively to ensure there were always sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet people's needs.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01How are you now making sure people receive the food and drinks set out in their care plans, and how do you check this daily?
  2. 02How do you make sure people are repositioned when required, and what happens when someone declines support or their skin condition changes?
  3. 03What has changed in medicines management since the inspection, including stock checks, as-required medicine protocols and fridge temperature records?
  4. 04Where are hoists, slings and continence equipment stored now, and how are cleaning checks audited by managers?
  5. 05What action has been taken in response to the warning notice and the required action plan, and how can we see evidence that improvements are being sustained?

This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the other key question ratings carried over from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 16 February 2024 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.

The story over the years

Every inspection of Aspen Manor Care Home

2 rated inspections over a year: the service has slipped, from Good to Requires improvement.

  1. February 2024Requires improvementcurrent ratingdown from Good
    Safe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement

    Read what inspectors found at Aspen Manor Care Home →

  2. June 2023Good
    Safe: GoodWell-led: Good

    We are reading this report · the original is on cqc.org.uk

  3. October 2021

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 29 October 2021.

Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission. A service can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections, not every contact the CQC has had with the service.

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