Ammersall Court

Updated 26 October 2019

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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Ammersall Court 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.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

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 professionals who work with the service. 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. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the service on the 31 July 2019 to look at records relating to the service. We spoke with eight people who used the service, two people’s relatives and two visiting social workers. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and 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 complaints, minutes of meetings, people’s quality feedback and the staff training policy and records were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to receive clarification from the registered manager and professionals to validate evidence found.

Updated 26 October 2019

About the service

Ammersall Court is a care home registered with CQC to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 18 people. It is situated in Scawthorpe, Doncaster. The service is provided by Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council and provides care for people with physical disabilities and/or learning disabilities. The home comprises four, linked bungalows, each with their own front door. People who use the service can move freely between the bungalows to meet and socialise with friends and neighbours. There were eighteen people using the service at the time of our inspection.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

People told us they were exceptionally happy with the care and support they received at Ammersall Court. Comments from people, their relatives and other professionals were, without exception, positive.

People's needs, and wishes were fully met by staff that knew them well and were passionate about people’s independence. People were respected and valued as individuals; and empowered as partners in their care in an exceptional service. Typical of people’s comments were, “This is the best place I’ve ever lived” and “I love living here.”

People received exceptionally personalised care and support specific to their needs and preferences. This had been particularly effective in supporting people to achieve their goals and aspirations and encouraged more freedom for people to take risks. This in turn, had led to people becoming more confident and adventurous and having very rich lives.

People were assisted to learn to be involved in managing their medicines and received their medicines in a safe way. Staff were patiently committed to enabling people to do as much for themselves as possible. Staff were very knowledgeable about how to keep people safe and the service learned from accidents and incidents and used this learning to improve the service. Recruitment continued to be undertaken in a safe way and there were enough staff to meet the needs of each person.

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 skilled, motivated and knowledgeable. They had received appropriate training and support and were encouraged to develop their individual skills and interests. People received a balanced diet which met their individual needs and took into consideration their preferences.

People were supported by staff who were incredibly kind and caring and who maintained their dignity and privacy and treated them with utmost respect. People were fully involved in the service and had opportunities to give feedback.

The service was exceptionally well-led. The registered manager’s dedication to a person led approach to supporting people provided a positive model for all the staff. The registered manager and their staff team were passionate and committed in placing people at the heart of the service.

Feedback about the registered manager was exceptionally positive and staff felt very well supported. Staff were well motivated and very proud of the service, and morale was very high. There had been several improvements made since the last inspection and these built on an already well led and well monitored service, to ensure there was an extremely strong person centred, person led, caring and responsive ethos. People consistently told us how they were treated with exceptional kindness and respect. We saw there was an extremely positive atmosphere and engaging interaction during our visit.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published December 2016).

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

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.