Notes from recent Relatives meeting held on 1st November 2024: Askham Court and Grove
Present:
Attendees:
Manu Magar (MM) – Head of Rehab and Nursing for Askham Court and Grove
Sarah Bartlett – Rehab Coordinator (for minute taking and recording purposes only)
Lead Nurse Beverly Contaoi (from Court)
Mr & Mrs Scrimshaw
Mrs Pat Rhodes
Notes:
Manu opened the meeting. Discussions took place about the meeting starting at 6pm and Manu asked if this time continued to be suitable for everyone. Comment was made from the family that it was good that people could join online or come in person and that there was a choice. Manu thanked the families for the continued support that they had shown to herself and Askham and apologised that she couldn’t be there today in person.
Manu explained that we would continue to have these meetings every 3 months but that if any issues arose, she has an open-door policy and is willing to discuss anything or any concerns that family or residents may have. Manu said that she is available 7 days a week but is only onsite Monday to Friday. She is always contactable by email or telephone.
Manu asked if anyone had any agenda items that they would like to raise.
Mrs Rhodes said that she felt that things had settled down and if her son is asked if he is happy, he will say yes. Mrs Rhodes explained that he does have his issues but, on the whole, he is settling down. Mrs Rhodes went on to comment that it was good that Court and Place were now merged together it was good having Bev as the lead. It was around getting use to other staff now too. Manu explained that Court and Place had now officially merged and was now called Court East and West. On registration it is officially Court. Previously East was Place and Court is now West. Manu thanked Bev for leading the team. The CQC registration had come through last month. Court will now have 32 beds. Court West has 15 beds. We had the extension in Court West. Previously there were 12 beds, and this has been extended by 3 more. Manu apologies for the disruption around the summertime with the rebuilding and decoration projects. Askham Gardens have also been done now and there were no further projects planned.
Mrs Scrimshaw said that she wanted to bring up an issue they had around transport. They had been told that if they want to take their son, or any resident out, that they had to pay £78. Mrs Scrimshaw commented that they felt that that was a lot of money even to just go out to March. Manu asked if this was happening every time. Bev said this had been happening since she started at Askham. They take the resident out for shopping and days out to garden centres. As this had now been stopped the question was raised and Dave our maintenance manager had said they have to pay. Manu said that she had discussed this with the ops teams as this has been brought to her attention a few months ago. This had also been discussed with Mav. Residents who are with Askham on the previous contract can still go out and not face payment this is just for any new contract. This does not apply to previous residents. We only have one vehicle on site to use for the resident’s transport. The electric car we have is not suitable for these types of visits and outings. We do need to bear in mind we prioritise hospital appointments.
Maintenance may not always be able to support the resident and will need an escort from the support staff. Bev said we used to have a driver which could take the resident to town with the carer and them pick them up after a couple of hours. Mr and Mrs Scrimshaw said they used to meet their son in town, and this is what they use to do. Manu explained that the transport we have is used for the whole of Askham and visits are prioritised accordingly. The activities team have taken residents out from Court East previously. Mrs Rhodes said that some people use the FACT community bus they do charge for journeys. People can sign up to use this. The FACT bus has been seen at Askham a few times. Manu confirmed that Askham does pay to use this service as well as we have a contract with them if our transport is busy. Mrs Rhodes said that you can use this service privately too, but she was unsure how much they charge but they do need notice. Manu asked to be kept in the loop of any journeys booked for Askham transport and to ensure this is booked in advance. Manu can authorise this if there are any issues with payment. Everyone understands that emergences take priority.
Manu said that if we have staff who are willing to drive the Askham vehicle and go out this can be used at weekends. Discussions took place over having grandad rights around driving and who could drive what vehicles. Manu said that with staff who willing to drive we just need a copy of their driving license for the files. This vehicle is insured for staff to drive this.
Manu said NHS transport has now changed to new contractor. Recently in the last few weeks it has been difficult to get in touch with this service. We had booked a discharge from 1pm for the resident to leave and the transport didn’t come until 3am the next day. Manu said that regular meetings are being had with CCQ and there is evidence for this. This isn’t acceptable. We do keep chasing and communicating with them but there was nothing communicated from the transport team. We usually get given a 2-hour window, but this has proven to be a little unreliable. Manu said that she always has a plan b in place for this if this does occur.
Mrs Scrimshaw commented that Court East and West is brilliant and that they have never had any issues they were just concerned about the transport. Manu reassured that this could still go ahead, and staff can use the vehicles if needed. Any further issues around this should be raised with Manu directly.
Manu thanked the residents and family for the good reviews that we had received on Care Home dot co dot uk. The praise is a good compliment and reminder for their teams and urged that this feedback continue whether good or not. Mrs Scrimshaw said commented that it was like being a family here. Court are currently on a score of 9.8% and Grove 9.6%. Manu again thanked everyone and congratulated the team on a great job. Manu explained that Askham has been nominated for an award and we are waiting to hear what category we are in, in coming months. With support of staff and family members we have and continue to do well.
Mrs Scrimshaw asked if family members were allowed to come in for Christmas meals as they had done in previous years. Manu said yes this will remain the same but to please let us know in advance of what time they would like to come in so we can prepare for this. Mrs Rhodes said that sometimes she has a lunch on Sunday with her son as he can spend a lot of time in his room. Manu said that family members are always welcome to come to Askham and join their loved one for meals as this is their home. This had previously stopped when it was Covid times.
Staffing wise things remain the same. With any cover needed for emergencies or sickness we always have back up and staff are always willing to help and support each unit. We will be having new staff members joining Court and Bev will be actively supporting them. We have care staff in the process of completing their induction and will be joining at the end of November. After training has been completed, they will be ready to go on floor.
Therapy team: We have a new physio Jeff who has been with us over a month now and is settling well within the team. We have 4 physios on site. We had recruited 2 OT’s but had resigned due to their geographical issues and could not continue with us. We are fortunate to have Wilika who is our locum OT and our onsite OT Beth. We are still in the process of hiring a further OT and the recruitment process continues. We are fortunate to have a good retention of staff. Mrs Rhodes said that she felt continuity is nice and is good for the residents and that everyone gets familiar with everyone. Manu said that stability is important as this makes a difference in the resident’s lives.
Manu explained that we recently had an unannounced visit from the CQC to Hall last month and they had received good feedback. We are waiting on the final outcome. The CQC came come in and visit us at any time and we are always open and honest with them. They can also come if there are any concerns. On their visits the CQC came sometimes want to catch up with the family members and staff on how things are going. In October we had a visit from Cambridge Council, and they carried out a quality visit. Manu said that they had said they were really happy with how things were. We had received feedback but there had been no serious concerns raised. This has also been shared on our website.
Policy review: Manu said that we do carry this out as a provider and like to make sure the staff is aware and kept up to date. The managers and ops teams go through these once a month. Family and residents are invited to join in this meeting if they wish and it is important to have this engagement and to have input on all areas on where we need to improve so we can work together. The next review is on 26th November at 10am. Manu said that if any resident or family wishes to attend if they could let her know the day before, please.
If any of the residents are missing items Manu encourages them and their family members to go to the laundry. We are aware that Christmas is coming, and new items of clothing are being purchased but can all items be labelled. Staff are encouraged to use markers on clothing, so nothing goes missing. Mrs Rhodes said that she puts red thread through her son’s socks, so they are identifiable. Mrs Rhodes went on to comment that she doesn’t think her son has lost any item of clothing since he has been at Askham.
Activities: At Askham we provide a range of activities for each resident. Each unit has an activities coordinator. There are main activities that are held in the function room. We have real reindeer coming to Askham for this year’s Christmas fayre. Manu urged people to come to visit and support this year’s Christmas Fayre as there will be a lot of surprises. Mrs Scrimshaw commented that they had enjoyed the summer fayre held.
Mandatory Training: All staff are compliant with the training. We have two staff who are due to complete final training, but this has been due to holidays. There are always changes happening with the policies and procedures. Manu explained that management is working closely with the therapy team, and it is important to have these updates. Training for the rehab support workers is now being carried out twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays and gives the support workers an opportunity to join the therapy team so they can learn from each other. This is happening with all of the disciplines and will be reviewed in a few months on how doing this. Manu said that it was important that the staff keep in regular contact with the families and to update them.
Ops team: Manu said that Aliyyah and her parents are still active directors. We have Mav who is our Associate Director of Quality and Operations. Leena is now the registered manager for Hall and House. Manu explained that it had taken a long time for Leena’s registration to come back, and this was due to changes with the CQC. Manu said that she had experienced the same thing with her registration.
Occupancy: Manu explained that we do still have a few empty beds, but that Askham is open to respite or permanent placements. Manu said that we were open to receive and review any referrals that are sent in and that we have capacity around these areas. The funders that we currently working with are Cambs and Peterborough, Lincolnshire, London and Bedfordshire. A lot of these are acquired brain injury and spinal cord services that we support. Some other care homes across the Country are not able to offer such a specialist service as Askham does along with supporting residents with tracheostomies. Manu said that the nursing and therapy teams are happy to assist if any incoming resident is suitable and to support the resident and their wider family.
Manu thanked everyone for their valuable time in attending this evening’s meeting.
The meeting finished at 7pm