Ashley Court

Updated 13 October 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 was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Ashley Court 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.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and safeguarding teams. 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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with eight people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine members of staff including the regional director, registered manager, operations manager, deputy manager, senior care workers, care workers and activities staff. We made observations throughout the day noting interactions between people and staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included six people’s care records and six medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We received feedback from two professionals who work with the service.

Updated 13 October 2021

About the service

Ashley Court is a care home registered to provide personal and nursing care to 60 older people. There were 59 people receiving care and support at the time of the inspection many of whom were living with dementia.

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

People were safe living at Ashley Court. The home had made improvements since our last inspection which had been embedded into daily practice. This included improvements to recruitment practices, medicines management and the management oversight within the home.

Staff knew how to keep people safe and who to report to if they had concerns. There was confidence in the registered manager that they would take any concerns seriously and act upon them. There was enough staff on duty, and they had been recruited safely and had the necessary skills and training to support people.

People’s risks had been assessed and this included risks around the home, these were regularly updated. Medicines were managed safely and staff responsible for giving medicines had their competency assessed. The home worked well with health and social care professionals when needed. Infection prevention and control procedures were robust, and the latest government guidance was followed regarding COVID-19. Lessons were learnt and shared amongst the team, with a chance to reflect on practice.

People had care plans and assessments in place and the registered manager created a plan to ensure all documentation relating to the person was personalised. People knew how to make a complaint and records showed they had been dealt with in line with the providers policy. 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. People had access to a range of activities and additions to this were ongoing.

Improvements had been made to the governance systems. There was a range of audits which checked, monitored and improved practices within the home. Staff were proud to work at Ashley Court and had confidence in their colleagues, they told us people living at the home were their priority. People, their relatives and staff told us they had confidence in the management of the home. Ashley Court worked to gain the views of the people living there and their relatives in order to make improvements.

The registered manager and staff understood their role within Ashley Court. The registered manager told us they were open and transparent, and records supported this. Where necessary referrals had been made to external agencies including CQC.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 12 June 2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

At our last inspection breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve their staff and recruitment processes and good governance. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, responsive 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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the caring key questions. We therefore did not inspect it. The rating from the previous comprehensive inspection for the effective and caring key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Ashley Court on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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