Notes from recent Relatives meeting held on 3rd September 2026: Askham Court and Grove
Present:
Attendees:
Donna Smith – Head of Rehab and Nursing
Sarah Bartlett – Rehab Coordinator (for minute taking and recording purposes only)
Mr and Mrs Wiggins
Mr and Mrs Scrimshaw
Notes:
Donna opened the meeting and thanked the families for joining us.
CQC inspection: Donna explained that Court had recently had an unannounced CQC inspection and had happened when she was on annual leave, which wasn’t great timing. The Court team had coped really well with this and Donna praised Lead Nurse Bev and her team. Donna said that we had received really good positive feedback but was waiting on the full report form the CQC which Donna and Mav would be going through. This inspection was carried out in one day as they said they had received all of the information they needed. Donna and Mav had followed up with further information that was required for things that happened in the background. We were hoping for a well led following this inspection. Donna said that the CQC had said that they would be reaching out to family members for feedback on the unit. Mr and Mrs Scrimshaw said that they had received a phone call and gave nothing but praise for the unit and had no complaints whatsoever. Now that we have had this inspection this may lead to further inspections around the site.
Clinical Lead: Donna advised that we have a new clinical lead starting with us on Monday. She is called Karla and has a background of nursing and is very experienced. Karla will be working alongside Donna going forward. Donna went on to explain that Lyndsey had left us in July to work in a service development role which is something she enjoyed. Lyndsey will be missed but we wish her all of the very best in her new venture.
Awards: Donna explained that the Askham Team had been nominated for various awards. The first event we have coming us is the Rehab Awards which is being held on Tuesday 27.10.2026. Nominations has been made for our Lead OT, Lead Physio and Lead SLT. This will be held in the Hilton Hotel in London. Bev, Leah and Uche had also received nominations. The second event coming up is for the Great British Care Awards which is being held on Friday 30.10.2026. Sarah had received a nomination for Home Care Coordinator. This event will be held in Milton Keynes. Donna went on to explain that the nominees will be preparing their speeches and will be invited to interviews before the event to explain their roles and why they feel they would be worth winners. The team had attended an awards ceremony earlier in the year where Bev was nominated for Lead Nurse of the Year and Kelly for Activities Coordinator. Donna said that it was great for Askham and the team to have received all of these nominations and that she was very proud of her team.
Staffing: staff assigned to carry out NVQ level 3 a lot in Court progressing. Future nurses coming up. Strong team on Court. Testament to the team long standing staff. Moving sensory room and now one will be on quiet room on East. Donation received from family which will buy equipment.
Activities: Donna explained that our activities coordinators Kirsty and Fay are arranging a joint Halloween party for residents. This will be held on 31.10.2026 up in the red lounge on Grove. We will be having a karaoke, buffet, a game “Play Your Cards Right”, a quiz, fancy dress and theatre makeup. Posters will be made and displayed accordingly. Preparations are now in place for our Christmas Fayre. Activities Coordinator Kelly is trying to arrange donkeys for this. Last year we had reindeers.
Changes to units: Donna explained that there are new residents in the pipeline and will be coming in on Grove. Grove is a rehab unit, so residents only stay for a certain amount of weeks. There are a mixture of residents on Court and Grove. On Court these are more long-term residents. There had been some sad news this week that one of our long-term resident had passed away. Our thoughts and condolences to their family at this sad time. Some of the rooms on the units are looking tired. Donna said that these rooms will now be looking to be renovated and having a freshen up. The carpets will be replaced with lino flooring. There had been some damage to the rooms with the beds and wheelchairs where the walls and doors had been damaged. The maintenance team would be look to carry out repairs to these rooms adding in plastic coverings to the doors to try to eliminate the damage. Mr and Mrs Scrimshaw praised the onsite maintenance team saying that they were always quick to help.
Donna opened the floor and asked if there were any questions that the families would like to raise. Mr and Mrs Scrimshaw continued to praise the unit where their son was residing and said that they couldn’t ask for better for him. There were no concerns or questions raised.
Donna closed the meeting and again thanked the families for joining us.
The meeting finished at 6.45pm.