Archived: Ashwood - Care Home Learning Disabilities

Updated 20 March 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 8 January 2018 and was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by an inspector and an expert by experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

As part of our planning for this inspection we used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also considered statutory notifications and previous inspection reports.

We looked at two people's care records which included risk assessments and other associated records, four staff files, records relating to the management of the service and policies and procedures.

We spoke to three people who use the service, four care staff, the deputy manager and the registered manager. We spoke with the local commissioning team for their feedback about the service. We also made observations of the environment and staff interacting with people.

Ashwood—Care Home Learning Disabilities was last inspected in August 2015 where it was rated ‘Good’ in all domains and ‘Good’ overall.

Updated 20 March 2018

The inspection was carried out on 8 January 2018 and was unannounced.

Ashwood is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Ashwood is a large detached Victorian house that provides care for up to eight people with a learning disability and other complex needs. It is situated near the town centre and shops, a local park and the beach. At the time of our inspection, there were eight people living at the home, some of whom had lived at Ashwood in excess of 20 years. All bedrooms are single occupancy, apart from one room, which is shared. All rooms are equipped with wash basins. There is a bathroom on the ground and first floor. The property is surrounded by gardens which are accessible to people.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen. People living at the home were supported to maintain jobs and educational courses and had choice about what they did each day.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Infection control was risk assessed and mitigations were put in place to protect people from the risk of infection.

Fire evacuation procedures were not completely embedded so that staff were aware of what they should do in an emergency. However there were appropriate checks of the environment and fire equipment to ensure that people would be safe in the event of an emergency.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed.

The service made changes as a result of incidents or accidents that had occurred to reduce the risk of them happening again.

We found one example where the provider had not considered a best interest decision for service users in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. We made a recommendation to the provider about reviewing their practice and documentation in this area.

There were robust processes in place for recruiting staff.

Staff training needed to be updated to meet changes the organisation had made to the training they expected employees to complete.

People were supported to attend healthcare appointments and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

People were happy living at the home and got on well with staff. People chose how they spent their time and were able to move freely around the home. People were able to maintain relationships with families and friends.

People were supported to maintain work and volunteer placements in the community. They were able to maintain their interests at home such as gardening.

People were provided with information to support them to complain if they wanted to.

Staff were supported to give their opinion about the service and make suggestions for improvements.

Audits and quality assurance checks were in place to identify where the service could improve and were monitored by the registered manager and provider. Action plans were developed and updated if any shortfalls in quality were identified and action plans put in place to address areas for improvement.

People were supported to give the provider feedback about how they could make the service better.