Ashling Homes Healthcare Ltd

Updated 31 May 2022

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.

Inspection team

One inspector carried out this inspection.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. This includes older people some of whom may have dementia, people with a physical disability, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, and mental health.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because 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 used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection

We spoke in person with the registered manager. We spoke with six people using the service, their relatives or advocates, and four staff, to get their experience and views about the care provided. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care plans and risk records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment, training and staff supervision. We checked a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, spot checks and quality assurance.

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We requested additional evidence to be sent to us after our inspection. This included staff and training information, and audits. We received the information which was used as part of our inspection.

Updated 31 May 2022

About the service

Ashling Homes Healthcare Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing care and support to ten people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection ten people using the service were receiving personal care. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

People received a service that was safe to use and for staff to work in. Enough appropriately recruited and trained staff supported people to live in a safe way and enjoy their lives. Risks to people and staff were assessed and monitored. Complaints, concerns, accidents, incidents and safeguarding issues were reported, investigated, recorded and resolved. Medicines were safely administered, by trained staff.

There was transparent management and leadership with an honest, open and positive culture. The provider had a vision and values that were clearly defined, and staff understood and followed them. Staff were made aware of their responsibilities and accountability and prepared to take responsibility and report any concerns they may have. Service quality was reviewed, and changes made to improve people’s care and support. This was in a way that best suited people. There were well-established working partnerships that promoted people’s participation and reduced their social isolation. Registration requirements were met.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 30 June 2018) and there were no breaches of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

As no concerns were identified in relation to the key questions is the service Effective, Caring and Responsive, we decided not to inspect them. Ratings from the previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service remains 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 Ashling Homes Healthcare Ltd 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.

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