Archived: Aston House

Updated 15 November 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 was planned to check 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 24 October 2018 and was unannounced. The membership of the inspection team consisted of one inspector.

As part of the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service including statutory notifications that had been submitted. Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We sought information about the service from the local authority and Healthwatch. The local authority has responsibility for funding people who used the service and monitoring its quality. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion, which promotes the views and experiences of people who use health and social care.

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 looked at how staff supported people throughout the time we were at the home. During the inspection we spoke with six people who lived at the home, two relatives and two care staff, the registered manager and the provider. We reviewed two care records, the provider's quality audits, resident meeting minutes, accident and incident records, the provider's complaints and compliments records and three staff recruitment files.

Updated 15 November 2018

Aston House provides accommodation and personal care for up to 16 people who have mental health support needs. People who live at Aston House may need a long-term home or be planning to move towards a more independent way of life. At the time of our inspection there were 16 people living at the home.

At our last inspection in January 2016 we rated the service as good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

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 and associated regulations about how the service is run.

People were supported to manage any risks to their safety and wellbeing.

People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

People were complimentary about the care and support that they received. Staff were described as kind and caring and treated people with dignity and respect. People received care that was centred on them as individuals and their independence and freedom of choice were promoted and supported.

People had the support they needed to take their medicines safely. People received their medicines as prescribed. People were supported to keep healthy and had access to other health professionals as and when required.

People were offered choices of meals and felt the food they were served was of a very good quality.

People care was planned in ways which reflected their preferences and wishes. Relatives' and health and social care professionals' views and suggestions were considered when people's care was planned.

People, relatives and staff were confident if any complaints were made these would be addressed. Systems were in place to manage complaints. Although none had been received in the last twelve months.

People were encouraged to stay active. The provider had a comprehensive activities and entertainment programme for people to join in and enjoy.

People, their relatives and staff were encouraged to make suggestions to develop the care they received further through open communication with the senior management team. The registered manager and provider regularly checked the quality of the care people received.