Ashridge Court Care Centre

Updated 10 February 2021

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors.

Service and service type

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

The service is required to have a registered manager

The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission at the time of inspection. The manager had submitted their application to be registered. Once registered, this means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed the information, we held about the service and the service provider. We sought feedback from the local authority and healthcare professionals that are involved with the service. We looked at the notifications we had received for this service. Notifications are information about important events the service is required to send us by law. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with seven people who used the service. We spoke with 10 members of staff including the manager. We spent a short time in the home. This allowed us to safely look at areas of the home and to meet people and staff whilst observing social distancing guidelines. It also gave us an opportunity to observe staff interactions with people.

We reviewed a range of records. This included people’s care records, medicine records, two staff files in relation to recruitment and further records relating to the quality assurance of the service, including accident and incident records.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We received feedback following the inspection from one staff member, and three health professionals.

Updated 10 February 2021

About the service:

Ashridge Court Care Centre is a residential care home that provides accommodation and support for up to 69 older people. On the day of our inspection there were 52 people living at the home. Some people had illnesses or disabilities associated with old age such as limited mobility, physical frailty or lived with health problems such as diabetes. Some people lived with dementia and sensory impairment. Accommodation was arranged over two floors with stairs and a stair lift connecting each level.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found:

People told us, “I love my views, it’s a good place to live,” and “They look after me well here.” Quality assurance systems were in place with good management oversight. There were areas that still needed to be developed and this was acknowledged by the management team. The nominated individual had identified that the care documentation needed a more person-centred approach to individual care, and risk. At present the approach was generic and not person specific. Staff knew people very well and described how they safely supported people in their daily lives. This however, needs to be reflected within the documentation to ensure new and agency staff provide consistent safe care.

All staff had attended safeguarding training. They demonstrated a clear understanding of abuse; they said they would talk to the management or external bodies immediately if they had any concerns. For example, the local authority and CQC. People were supported to take positive risks, to ensure they had as much choice and control of their lives as possible. Staff understood the risks associated with the people they supported. People received their medicines safely, when they needed them. There were enough suitably trained staff to meet people's needs at the time of the visit. Staffing levels were regularly reviewed following admissions and changes in a person's health condition. The provider ensured that when things went wrong, accidents were recorded and lessons were learnt. The environment was comfortable, clean and well maintained.

We requested COVID-19 infection procedures and policies during the inspection. These reflected current guidance and we were told they were updated regularly. All staff were aware of the government guidance and confirmed that they received updates daily. Staff were all wearing protective personal equipment (PPE).

There was a calm and happy workplace culture and staff we spoke with provided positive feedback about the management style. Staff told us that they felt well supported by the management team and received regular supervision and wellbeing meetings.

Referrals were made appropriately to outside agencies when required. For example, GP visits, community nurses and speech and language therapists (SALT). Notifications had been completed to inform CQC and other outside organisations when events occurred. They felt that improvements to the service had been made and were still being implemented.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for this service was Good. (published 07 December 2018)

Why we inspected:

We received information that indicated that people may be at risk. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has remained Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.