Notes from recent Relatives meeting held on 29th August 2023: Askham Place
Notes:
AGENDA:
- Questions
- New Format
- Project Pistachio
- Nourish – 1 year on
- Care Quality Commission monitoring
- Changes in the team
Questions
As I have adopted with the meetings with the staff, I like to commence with any questions from those invited to the meeting. These questions can be shared ahead of time and can be anonymous to the audience if the individual wishes, or asked during the meeting. Granted the meeting didn’t go ahead due to non attendance but for thought going forward. Naturally, I do not expect questions to wait until meetings, and I am contactable at any time for questions that may rear. I’m available face to face, or via phone (ext 202) or email luke.cook@askhamvillagecommunity.com
New Format
Previously Askham had a collective relatives meeting, that was inclusive of each of the 5 units. However, we have decided that this is to change as of how unique each of the Askham environments are and the needs of the residents along with their families differing. We will remain with annual collective meetings for all of the units combined and this will be led by our Operations Director, Aliyyah-Begum Nasser. I will be continuing with quarterly meetings, with the next due in the new year.
Project Pistachio
As you may all be aware, we are extending Askham Court and Askham Place, adding two more bedrooms to Askham Court and one more to Askham Place. We are thrilled to share that the contractors are on schedule and that we are excited to see vast visual advancements over the coming weeks. We would also like to thank you for supporting the development and amended parking on site during this transition period.
We are sure you will have seen the tremendous development on the building works over the past weeks. With walls now in place the scale and impact of the project is evident now more than ever before. As the build continues to develop, we aim to commence with installation of windows and doors to ensure that the project is watertight and that barriers where appropriate can be removed. We continue to work tirelessly with the residents and staff to prepare them for the upcoming changes, and we would like to reassure you too. We are working to expedite works that may cause some noise disturbance over the coming weeks, to ensure disturbance is kept to a minimum duration. We thank you for your ongoing support, and if you have any questions please share and we’ll endeavour to respond with haste.
Nourish – 1 year on
As you many know, our became part of our community once it was in use.
We have been utilising a digital care planning for over 1 year now. This has been a fantastic year of change and advancement across the service and we’re excited to see where the next 12 months take us. We had prepared a video to mark the anniversary, which can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/wm4n87-rFiE
For the residents what this translated too was more of their day being recorded, with each staff member on average recording 48 interactions per day. This has led to prompter response to care need change, but also documentation in the moment. Allowing more time away from bureaucracy and more time meaningfully engaging with the residents.
What Nourish also allows is for relatives to have access to the care plan of their loved ones. This helping shape the care your loved one receives. This is currently being trialled, and will be available to all in due course.
Care Quality Commission monitoring
From the 24 months of lost regulatory activity due to a consequence of Coronavirus, the CQC has continued to audit each of its registered services, and has publicly documented that we are not in imminent need for an inspection. “We reviewed the information and data available to us about Askham Place. We have not found evidence that we need to reassess the rating at this stage. We will continue to monitor information about this service”.
This assurance comes from a mix of data entry points; CQC notifications, Local Authority Reports (our last report we scored 93.2%), ICB reports, GP feedback, Resident feedback, Family feedback and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard applications to name a few. As part of my role as Registered Manage I share a great deal of information about what we do well, and also our areas of improvement. The assurance doesn’t come from not making mistakes, it comes from sharing and learning when this is to happen.
Changes in the team
Askham Place has welcomed a great number of quality staff members over the past year. What this increase in quality staff members has allowed is for our reliance on agency to be removed. Askham Place had a team of block booked agency staff who working on the unit for a number of years, these staff were fantastic care providers and great people, but the not being contracted to the organisation was something that made me feel uncomfortable. With this, we recruited and our last shift where an agency staff member was 15/04/2023.
We have also had a new role added into the Place establishment, the role of Assistant Practitioner.
Nicole has joined Askham Place from Askham Court to support as Trainee Assistant Practitioner.
Nicole’s role is to deliver care, but her training allows that delivery to be with enhanced knowledge. Nicole will be a great addition to the team, and we look forward to seeing her flourish on her new unit.