Ashleigh House

Updated 26 March 2019

The inspection.

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.

Ashleigh House 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.

At the time of this inspection a registered manager was in post and present throughout the inspection. 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.

Inspection team:

One inspector carried out this inspection.

Notice of inspection:

This inspection took place on 20 February 2019 and was unannounced.

What we did:

Before our inspection visit, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed information we held about the service in the form of statutory notifications received from the service and any safeguarding or whistleblowing incidents, which may have occurred. A statutory notification is information about important events, which the provider is required to send us by law.

We asked the local authority and Healthwatch for any information they had which would aid our inspection. We used this information as part of our planning. Local authorities together with other agencies may have 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 services.

We spoke with three people living at Ashleigh House and two relatives. We also spent time in the communal areas observing the care and support people received to understand the experiences of those who were not able to talk with us. In addition, we spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager, two care workers and the housekeeper. We also spoke with one visiting healthcare professional.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care and medication records. We confirmed the safe recruitment of two staff members and reviewed records relating to the provider's quality monitoring, health and safety and staff training.

Updated 26 March 2019

About the service:

Ashleigh House is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to a maximum of 13 people some of who may be living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 13 people living at the home.

People’s experience of using this service:

The provider had systems in place to respond to any identified risks to people. This included appropriate fire safety training. Staff members were aware of the necessary action they should take in the event of an emergency. In addition, the provider had assessed risks to people associated with their care and support. Staff members were knowledgeable about these risks and knew what to do to minimise the risk of harm to people.

People received safe care and support as the staff team had been trained to recognise potential signs of abuse and understood what to do to safely support people. Staff members followed effective infection prevention and control procedures.

People received safe support with their medicines by competent staff members. The provider had systems in place to respond to any medicine errors should they occur. The provider completed regular checks to ensure that people were receiving the right medicine at the right time and people’s medicines were stored correctly.

The provider supported staff in providing effective care for people through person-centred care planning, training and one-to-one supervision. Staff members were knowledgeable about the relevant legislations that informed their practice and supported the rights of those living at Ashleigh House.

People were promptly referred to additional healthcare services when required. People were supported to maintain a healthy diet and had choice regarding food and drink. The environment where people lived was well maintained and suited their individual needs and preferences.

People received help and support from a kind and compassionate staff team with whom they had positive relationships. People were supported by staff members who were aware of their individual protected characteristics like age, gender and disability. People were supported to retain their independence.

People participated in a range of activities that met their individual choices and preferences and found interesting and stimulating. People were provided with information in a way that they could understand. The provider had systems in place to encourage and respond to any complaints or compliments from people or visitors.

The provider had systems in place to ensure the Care Quality Commission was notified of significant events in a timely manner and in accordance with their registration. The provider had effective systems to monitor the quality of the service they provided and to drive improvements where needed. The provider, and management team, had good links with the local community which people benefited from.

More information in Detailed Findings below.

Rating at last inspection:

Requires Improvement for the key questions ‘Safe,’ ‘Effective’ and ‘Well-led’ (date last report published 21 July 2017). At that inspection we found the provider needed to improve their staff members knowledge regarding fire safety and the provider needed to make improvements to how they identified and mitigated risks to people. Staff members knowledge of the mental capacity act and the deprivation of liberty safeguards needed to be improved. The provider needed to improve how they monitored the quality of support they provided to ensure people received ‘Good’ care. At this inspection we found they had made these improvements and therefore rated Ashleigh House ‘Good’ in all key questions.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection, ‘Requires Improvement.’ At this inspection we found the service had improved.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor all intelligence received about the service to ensure the next planned inspection is scheduled accordingly.