A Hove care home requires improvement, according to an official report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Aspen House Care Home, in Wilbury Avenue, Hove, was rated good for being safe, caring and responsive. But it requires improvement in terms of being effective and well led, dragging down its overall grading.
The CQC said: “The inspection took place on (Tuesday) 19 July 2016 and was unannounced.
“Aspen House provides accommodation for up to 15 older people. On the day of our inspection there were 12 people living at the home.
“The home provides support for people living with varying stages of dementia along with healthcare needs such as diabetes and epilepsy.
“We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection (in) May 2015. Breaches of legal requirements were found and following the inspection the provider wrote to us to say what they would do in relation to the concerns found.
“At the inspection (last month) we found that significant improvements had been made. However, we found a breach of legal requirements in relation to the failure to display performance assessment ratings.
“Further areas that needed improvement related to people’s dining experience and the lack of choice in relation to food, as well as the lack of signage and adaptation of the building to assist people, who were living with dementia, to orientate around the building.
“Part of the requirements of the provider’s registration is to ensure that when their service is inspected by (the) CQC they display their performance assessment rating to provide members of the public with an awareness of the rating of the service.
“The provider had not displayed the rating of the previous CQC inspection and therefore this was an area of concern.
“People had sufficient quantities to eat and drink and were happy with the food. However, people told us that they didn’t get enough choice in relation to the food that was provided.
“One person told us, ‘There’s a bit of choice at breakfast but you can’t have a cooked breakfast or anything like that and at lunchtime it’s a main meal in the dining room. You never know what it is unless it’s Friday and you know it’ll be fish then.’
“People were able to choose where they ate their meals, most deciding to eat in the main dining area.
“Independence, with regard to eating and drinking, was not consistently promoted. Although people were observed to be independently eating their food, observations showed a member of staff moving from person to person mixing their food and putting spoonful’s to people’s mouths.
“People appeared not to welcome this support, which did not promote people’s dignity or independence. This is an area of practice in need of improvement.
“All of the people living in the home were living with dementia. Although the home provided a homely and relaxed atmosphere there were no adaptations or clear signage for people to orientate and know where their rooms, or other parts of the building were.
Middleton grove nursing home needs looking into I had to get safeguarding out .my mum was 8n there for two weeks respite I had to remove her after 3 days!!!!