Ellershaw House Limited

Updated 8 August 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

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 was completed by an inspector.

Ellershaw House Limited is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Ellershaw House Limited is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 4 people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 8 staff, including the registered manager. We looked around the service and checked the management and administration process for people’s medicines. We reviewed a variety of records used to manage the service and associated risks, safety, and the home environment. We reviewed 2 care plans and 3 staff files.

Updated 8 August 2023

About the service

Ellershaw House Ltd is a residential care home for up to 12 people. The service provides support to people who live with a Learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of our inspection 11 people were using the service.

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

People living at Ellershaw House Ltd are referred to by the provider as ‘students’ to reflect how the service promotes learning in a supportive and caring environment. Ellershaw House Ltd is set in a rural setting in open countryside. People enjoy the indoor riding school and extensive outdoor space. Equestrian and care of the horses is integral to the culture of the service and the therapeutic support it offers.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of ‘Right support, right care, right culture’

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

Staff were safely recruited in line with the provider's policy and legislative requirements. Enough suitably skilled staff were employed to spend quality time with people to develop skills and promote independence. Staff received supervision and appraisal along with spot checks recorded to maintain best practice.

People received initial assessments of their needs with care plans in place to manage known risks. Care planning was moving from paper to electronic records. Regular reviews ensured information remained relevant and up to date as an accessible point of reference for staff. People's care plans and risk assessments reflected their needs and preferences, and staff were knowledgeable about the level of support people required to keep them safe.

Right care: Care was person-centred and promoted people's dignity, privacy, and human rights;

Staff were respectful, caring and understanding around people’s emotional and physical needs.

People were involved in planning their care and support. Care was delivered following a robust assessment of needs to ensure people’s wishes, preferences and any personal characteristics were recorded and supported. Regular reviews with people ensured adjustments were made to meet people’s changing needs and aspirations.

Where people received support to take their medicines this was done safely. Medicines management and administration followed best practice guidance. Where medicines were prescribed as part of behaviour support planning, professional health reviews ensured reliance on these medicines was monitored and reduced to support people to stay well and have a good quality of life.

Right culture: The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people using services led confident, inclusive, and empowered lives; The culture of the service was open and empowered individuals to express their views and be in control of their lives with the support of staff. People felt confident to approach staff and management, indicative of a family environment and their suggestions were listened to and acted on.

A range of quality assurance checks including regular audits were completed to manage and improve the service and to maintain compliance with required regulations. The provider was in the process of implementing new electronic recording. This would benefit from improved management planning to ensure a smooth transition within achievable time scales.

Staff followed latest guidance to maintain effective infection prevention and control and had good access to any required protective equipment which helped to reduce the spread of any infections. Where we identified some areas of the home required maintenance, this was proactively completed during the inspection.

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 requires improvement (17 May 2019)

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Ellershaw House Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.