If you’ve read about the history of Ashlands and my experiences back in 2012, you’ll not be surprised to learn that 10 years later history is repeating itself! Not my opinion, but the conclusion of the latest unannounced CQC inspection. And unannounced is the key: no opportunity for managers to paste up the window dressing or get round to addressing complaints from residents or relatives. And unannounced because of information that the CQC had been getting about what was (or wasn’t) going on.

So here’s the headline: IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT.

And here are the key points:

Not safe. Here’s what CQC report said about the experience of residents: Staff deployment did not consistently meet people’s care needs. This impacted on the length of time people had to wait for assistance. People repeatedly told us this caused them frustration and distress.

Staffing levels were identified as being inadequate and in breach of regulations. And if you bother reading into the detail you’ll discover that some of the staff that actually work in the home have to leave Ashlands to help out on a different site! These are the same staff that you or your family are paying for to look after you or your relative–not residents of an entirely different service!

Not well led. And there’s not plan to make things better! Another quote from the CQC report: There was no current action plan to drive forward improvements. Care documents were not accurately maintained. This raised concerns about management, leadership and oversight.

The report also describes a lack of monitoring–no-one bothering to check how well (or how badly) things are going. Worse still, when problems are discovered it seems that no-one in management bothers to follow up and sort things out. And that applies to things as fundamental as monitoring medications. So the CQC concludes: a lack of accurate records put people at risk of receiving unsafe and inconsistent care.

And here are a few other choice findings that don’t fit neatly under the above headings:

● People did not consistently receive care and support that was person centred, inclusive or empowering

● People told us they had no opportunities to pursue interests and hobbies and were offered limited social activities and opportunities

● A repeated concern raised by people was about the quality and choice of meals that were cooked off site and delivered daily. People told us they had shared their concerns with staff and the management team frequently but did not feel valued or listened to.

So many of the same issues that were so obvious during my mum’s 2 month stay at Ashlands. So many of the same promises (new staff, new brooms etc). And in the end exactly the same awful outcomes! PrimeLife is a very successful money making machine for its CEO, his son and the top managers but there’s precious little sign that anyone at that level actually cares about their service users.