Meeting Minutes

Notes from recent Relatives meeting held on 1st August 2024: Askham Court, Place and Grove

Present:

Attendees:

Manu Magar (MM) – Head of Rehab and Nursing for Askham Court, Grove & Place

Sarah Bartlett – Rehab Administrator (minute taking only)

Carmel Thomas (daughter of resident in Court)

 

Notes:

MM opened the meeting at 18.09. Introductions were made. MM explained that she always operates an open-door policy and is happy to discuss anything, if needed. MM said that she had now been at Askham for over 7 months.

MM asked Carmel if she had any agenda items to bring to the meeting. Carmel said that she didn’t have anything to raise.

MM explained that she is the registered manager for Court, Place and Grove. Lyndsey is our Clinical Lead. She been here for the last 3 months. Lyndsey has a background of being a senior physio and has a wealth of experience of rehab in the community. Lyndsey also has experience in working in the NHS service. Lyndsey will be supporting the therapy team, also with the hydro pool and robotics. Sarah is our rehab administrator and is helping to keep our teams organised. Sarah will be taking the minutes for today’s meeting.

 

Rehab team

A senior physio will be joining the team from September onwards. They come from an NHS background and have a wealth of experience in rehab. This will mean that we then have a full rehab team.

Caroline is our Lead Physio. We then have Brijith and Teagan who are our physios and Caroline has been supporting them throughout there time at Askham. We have physio assistants who support with the physios, and they are all doing well as a team. MM explained that she is in the process of recruiting. This also gives staff at Askham the chance to apply for internal roles that become available and to work with the therapy team.

There are 2 new therapy assistants starting next Monday. This is a new role that had been introduced to the therapy team. The objective is for the OT and physio team to be supported, working as a team alongside the SLT team.

A new OT will be joining the team on Monday called Alison. She is currently having training and going through the induction process. Alison has a wealth of experience in occupational therapy, along with case management. She will be working with us for 36 hours a week over a 4-day period. Victoria our locum OT will unfortunately be leaving us at the end of the month.

We have a qualified OT, Claire, who moved from the USA. Claire has been with us for a few months and is doing well. This is a good opportunity for the team to share their experiences. We had been relying on locum staff previously but are now looking to recruit permanent staff to build a stronger team.

Dr Alberto Bonilla Miralles is our Clinical Psychologist who has been with us for quite some time. We have two assistant psychologists which comprises of Alex and Carly who support Dr Alberto.

Dr Anwar comes to Askham every fortnight. He is based at Addenbrookes. Dr Anwar comes and reviews residents if this is needed. If there are any updates the Lead Nurses or manager will provide advice. If we have a problem with any initial assessments, MM said that this will be shared with Dr Anwar for his advice. Dr Anwar has been with us for many years now and has experience in working with neurological conditions.

Carmel explained that her dad had been doing well since he had been admitted and thanked MM and the team for how far he had come since his admission. He is however keen to get home. MM said to Carmel that her dad had been interacting well and has been very motivated.

Bev is our Lead Nurse for Court. Bev has been with us for many years. Court has a good stability of staffing and the levels have been good. A lot of building work has been happening between Court and Place. Court had 12 beds previously and now they have 14. We are in the process of extending this to another room, so there will then be a total of 15 beds. MM expressed that she was grateful to all of the residents and staff during this time, as it had been a difficult journey due to the noise. Everyone had been very cooperative. Carmel and her family had been here to visit Court.

MM explained that we have a lot of residents at Askham from different areas and parts of the country and we continue to try out best to accommodate all needs. There are currently 13 residents in Court. The staffing level is good, with 1 nurse over a 24-hour period and 5 carers to support the residents. This is a good ratio. We have a separate activity team which carry out different activities for each resident to cater for their choices and needs. This is all organised to take into account the different levels and needs the residents have. There are Group Activities, such as a Cooking Club and Music Group, which encourages all of the residents to interact. The function room is used for all of the larger activities. The function room had also been used to show the football matches on for everyone to see and it was enjoyed by many.

We had a Summer Fayre at Askham that was held last month. This was at the weekend, and we had very good weather. This was a really successful event which everyone really enjoyed. This event finished around 4pm and we had raised a good amount of money. This amount will be shared on how much had been raised. There were many stalls on the day.

A Cultural Day was held a few months ago. We have a big diversity here and lots of people from different parts of the country. Relatives and residents, along with staff and managers, were all encouraged to participate. Food from different countries was enjoyed by everyone.

 

Activities Team

We have an activity team on each of the units. The coordinator for the activities team spends time on each unit. This team works from Monday to Friday. The support workers in the unit also carry out extra activities with the residents, so they do not get bored. It is found that the residents engage well with this team.

 

Place, Court and Grove

Place is our long-term neurological unit. When some of our residents are admitted they are not stable to go home. The relatives will ask for a long-term placement. Residents can transfer from Court and Grove to Place. Place has a total of 17 rooms. There is 1 day nurse and 1 night nurse. There are 6 carers on duty during the day when the unit is full. At the moment Place has 15 residents. MM said that she is expecting 2 more residents to be admitted tomorrow then Place will be full. Respite care is also taken on at Place. We have regular residents who are welcomed. There is a good ratio of staffing level here.

With Lower and Upper Grove this is our rehab unit. We have 24 rooms and 4 flats. MM explained that the flats could be made available for family and relatives to stay over at the weekend to benefit from extra time with their loved ones. The purpose of having the flat is that it is a step-down from the rehab the resident is receiving, before going home and being able to do things for themselves. The flat mimics a home environment, with a kitchen and all appliances. It is a one-bedroom flat. We currently have two occupied and two that are vacant. There are 12 rooms in Lower and Upper Grove.

There is a satellite gym in Grove and Court has its own small gym which the residents all use. Askham Hall has the main bigger gym which has a hydro pool along with robotics and parallel bars. The activities run alongside physio Monday to Friday. Grove and Court are run very similar as they are rehab units. When we receive a referral, this is initially funded for 12 weeks by the ICB for the residents to continue with their rehab.

Regular reviews are held with the family and funders. The outcome is based on the resident’s progress and the clinicians will make recommendation as an MDT if extra funding is needed. Not all residents will stay for the full 12 weeks and can be discharged before this time. An extension can be provided if needed. Evidence is required for this, and the therapy team do need to justify why this is needed.

We are currently working alongside Norfolk & Waveney ICB, Cambridge and Peterborough Foundation Trust and Lincolnshire ICB. They all have a different way of working and reviewing the residents who are on their rehabilitation pathway. A lot can change in 8-12 weeks for the resident due to the therapy intervention that is had.

 

Training

We have an in-house training manager which works from Monday to Friday. All units are now complaint with the mandatory training. Our nurses receive extra training for tracheostomies. For extra support they receive training on bowel management and PEG feedings. We have different residents, with different needs in each unit. We also have external trainers who come in. There is always an opportunity for staff to go for extra training. This is also the same for the therapy team. The therapy team need to ensure that their CPD training is up to date. Askham will pay for extra training and support if the staff require this and to help upskill their knowledge.

 

CQC

The CQC have changed the way in which they are inspecting us. MM said that she has submitted her PIR for Askham Court, Grove and Place. The CQC can visit any time, and they will be reviewing all reports. If they have any doubts or questions about anything, they will be in touch and then come and visit Askham. The last report they had shared with us showed that we had managed to excel in all areas in this inspection.

 

Care Home website

We have a website which we ask for feedback from residents and families, whether this be good or bad. This is called www.carehome.co.uk. MM said that it is good if we receive feedback so that we can be honest and open with everyone and share compliments with the staff when they are given.

 

Court

Court has secured a score of 9.8 which MM had received this morning. This is a great achievement for the unit and all staff for the hard work they had put in.

 

Place

Place had scored 8.2 but they do not have much of change of residents as Grove and Court and these are long-term placements. MM encourages residents and families to share their feedback and any compliments they have with the team.

 

Grove

Grove have a score of 8.7 and they are working on improving this.

Management have been very proactive with this feedback and it is good for people to see the quality of service that is provided. This in turn then gives peace of mind that we keep our residents safe. All of this information can be found on our website.

 

Incidents and Accidents

MM explained that we have an open and honest working relationship with Cambridge and Peterborough Safeguarding Team and that we raise any safeguarding issues to support the staff and the community. At present, there is only 2 open safeguarding issues with Cambridge and Peterborough.

One of the residents who came to us unfortunately has reported that his daughter is using his credit card. This has been reported as Financial Abuse. We therefore have a Duty of Care to report to this to the Safeguarding Team and they are dealing with that.

We do also report any unknown bruises or any suspicions from staff and relative’s residents as we have a Duty of Care to do this. We are working with vulnerable people which is why constant training is given to make sure we are following Askham Company Policy and Procedures. MM said that she understands accidents happen, but she wants everyone to be open and honest about this so support can be provided to the community, along with staff and residents and then there will be lessons learnt from there. Staff are encouraged to carry out a reflection if any mistakes are made.

 

Place

We have a young gentleman who has been with us for about 5-6 years now. He is a presenter for FM radio. This young gentleman had recently participated in a Brain Injury charity event and his shaved head.

 

Tesco

We have a Local Tesco that comes in to visit and also supports us with events that are held at Askham.

 

GP surgeries

MM explained that when a resident is admitted to Askham, we have to temporarily register them with Doddington Medical Centre. When the resident then discharges from Askham, it is for the resident to then make sure they are reregistered with their own GP to make sure they are reviewed regularly by their doctor. We have a doctor from Doddington Medical Centre who visits us twice a week, along with a practice nurse. MM said that in her management experience she has found this to be a good and reliable service. This service is only available Monday to Friday. Contact can also be made with the Practice Manger.

MM said that she had a meeting with them and discussions had took place. Communications are now improved. When residents are discharged, full discharge documentation is provided but that the residents have to inform their own GP of their return home. A copy of this document is sent to the Doddington Medical Centre which can be shared between the GP’s if needed. This information is all sent in a timely manner. If any of the therapy team try to call the GP surgery they will not accept our calls due to Data Protection.

MM thanked Carmel for her time and appreciated that she had attended today’s meeting. MM sent best wishes for the future to Carmel’s dad who will be discharging from Askham soon.

 

Meeting ended: 18.49

For copies of previous meetings, please liase with your Manager as these can be made available to you on request.