Archived: Ashwood

Ashwood is a small residential care home registered to provide care and support for up to 2 people. The service specialises in providing support to people who have a learning disability. At the time of our inspection there was 1 person living at the home. There was no registered manager in place. This was because the provider was exempt from this requirement as they are registered as an individual and in day-to-day control of the running of the service.

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

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.

Right Support

Ashwood had provided a family home, care, and support to the person for over 15 years, they told us they were happy. The person was supported to have maximum choice and control of their life 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.

Right Care

The person was supported to live a inclusive and active life. They told us Ashwood was their home and spoke highly of the providers. Dignity and respect were shown to enable the person to be confident when navigating the world. Risks to the person were assessed and covered all aspects of their daily life.

Right Culture

The providers were passionate about providing a stable, family home for people. The providers had extensive experience of the care sector and had created an open, supportive culture within their home.

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 good (published 27 June 2018).

Why we inspected

We had not inspected and visited this service since 2018. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe 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.

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 remained 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 Ashwood 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.

At our last inspection that was carried out in December 2015 the service was meeting the requirements of the regulations and we rated the service 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. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

There was no registered manager in place. This was because the provider was exempt from this requirement as they are registered as an individual and in day to day control of the running of the service. 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.

There were two people living at Ashwood at the time of our inspection. One person was living in the home under the 'Shared Lives' scheme. This scheme is inspected and reported separately as part of the ‘Shared Lives’ registration. This report only focuses on the service provided to the other person living at the home.

The providers had made sure people were kept safe through compliance with all the key lines of enquiry under the ‘Safe’ domain. They had been trained in adult safeguarding, assessed the premises for safety and taken steps to minimise risks in meeting the person’s care and support needs.

The person living at Ashwood was supported to have maximum choice and control of their life and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The person said they enjoyed the food provided and was encouraged to eat healthily. The providers had kept up to date with training needs.

The person felt very cared for and part of the family. Their relatives agreed and were very happy with the placement.

The person had a care plan, which was personalised, reflecting their choices and preferences. They liked to have routine in their life and had activities in place to make sure life was fulfilling.

There was a complaints procedure in place but there had never been occasion for either the person or their relative to complain.

The home was well-managed with the person living as part of the family.

Further information is in the detailed findings below

Ashwood is a small care home for two people with a learning disability.

There was no registered manager in place. 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. This was because the provider was exempt from this requirement as they are registered as an individual and in day to day control of the running of the service.

At the last inspection on 4 March 2014 the service was meeting the requirements of the regulations that were inspected at that time.

There were two people living at Ashwood at the time of our inspection. One of those people was living in the home under the ‘Shared Lives’ scheme. People who lived at the home told us they felt safe and secure with staff to support them. We looked at one person’s care records and saw they detailed their preferences, interests, likes and dislikes.

We observed staff interaction with people during our inspection visit, spoke with staff and one person who lived at the home. We also contacted a relative to obtain their views. We found staffing levels and the skills mix of staff were sufficient to meet the needs of people and keep them safe.

Pre-employment checks that were required had been completed prior to staff commencing work.

People received their medicines in a safe manner. We discussed training and found staff responsible for administering medicines had received formal medicine training to ensure they were confident and competent to give medicines to people.

People were asked for their consent before care was provided. Staff were aware of their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who had the knowledge, skills and experience to carry out their role. People told us that there were always staff available to help them when needed.

People had access to a range of health care professionals to help maintain their health. A varied and nutritious diet was provided to people. This took into account their dietary needs and preferences so that their health was promoted and choices respected.

People told us they could speak with staff if they had any worries or concerns and felt confident they would be listened to.

People participated in a range of daily activities both in and outside of the home which were meaningful and promoted their independence.

There were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided.

We spoke with one person who used the service. They told us "It's going good, great". They told us that they were supported in accordance with their care plan and their needs were being met.

We looked at one care plan and other documentation which showed us the home had involved other agencies and medical professionals in the care of the person. This ensured that the health, welfare and safety of people using the service was maintained and information was shared to benefit their individual needs.

People were protected against the risks associated with medicines because the provider had appropriate arrangements in place to manage medicines.

People were protected from the risks of unsafe or inappropriate care and treatment because accurate and appropriate records were maintained.

We found the person was involved in making decisions about their care and treatment and supported to access the local community. They said 'I enjoy going out on the bus'.

We found that care plans detailed the support the person wanted or needed and they received care from relevant professionals to meet their needs. One relative described their satisfaction with all aspects of the care and support provided to their family member.

We saw that communication promoted inclusion and respect. This indicated the home was committed to maximising people's choice, control and inclusion to reduce the potential for abuse.

We noted appropriate professional development and training supported the provider to ensure they understood how to best meet people's needs.

The provider had an effective system in place to identify, assess and manage risks to the health, safety and welfare of people using the service and others.