The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found significant improvements at Ashview in Essex and has upgraded their overall rating from inadequate to good. The care home has also been removed from special measures, following an inspection in August.
Ashview, run by Ashview House Limited, is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 13 people. The service provides care for people with a physical disability, a learning disability as well as autistic people. At the time of our inspection, they were supporting eight people.
This unannounced inspection was carried out to follow up on improvements CQC told leaders to make at a previous inspection. CQC found the home had made significant improvements in all aspects of the service and they are no longer in breach of regulations.
The service’s overall rating has now been raised from inadequate to good, as well as for being safe, effective and well-led. The ratings for caring and responsive have improved from requires improvement to good.
Hazel Roberts, CQC deputy director of operations in the east of England, said:
“When we inspected Ashview, it was encouraging to see the significant improvements made in response to concerns we raised at our last inspection, including people’s safety, lack of person-centred care and governance. The service is now rated as good, and we have removed it from special measures as a result.
“Leaders have significantly improved safety at Ashview with staff well trained to protect people from abuse and neglect.
“Staff were now delivering care in line with our Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture guidance, which aims to ensure autistic people and people with a learning disability have the same choices, dignity, and independence that most people take for granted.
“Staff created personalised care plans that are co-developed with them and their relatives using respectful language. People told us they feel safe, respected, and listened to as staff ask them about how they want to do things, and decisions are made with them and not for them. This demonstrates that staff know how to support people with choice, control and autonomy.
“Ashview has been fully refurbished, making the home more suitable for autistic people and people with a learning disability. People told us small decisions such as choosing the colour of their bedroom curtains, gave them a sense of ownership and comfort. The home is now full of accessible features like adjustable sinks and hobs, and a lowered front door alarm code box so wheelchair users can open and close the door independently. These changes ensure that the home meets safety standards while promoting independence and inclusion.
“Everyone at Ashview should be really proud of the improvements they’ve made. We’ve shared our findings with them so that they can continue to build on the improvements we saw, and we will continue to monitor the service to make sure these changes are sustained long term.
Inspectors also found:
- Staff were up to date with their required training. Knowledge checks and information sharing sessions had been introduced to discuss and share understanding of the regulations and their competency to carry out their role and responsibilities
- Staff engage with people by involving them in conversation and listening to their views and body language
- People are now supported to engage in work, volunteering, as well as social and leisure times, both at home and in the community
- Agency staff are no longer used, the home has a consistent team of staff that worked hard to make things better for people
- Staff managed medicines well.