Ava House

Updated 17 December 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

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 one inspector.

Service and service type

Ava House is a ‘care home’ without nursing. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

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

Notice of inspection

We gave the service less than 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 4 November 2022 and ended on 24 November 2022. We visited the location on 9 November 2022 and 14 November 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 4 people living in Ava House and 4 relatives. We spoke with 7 staff including care staff, senior care staff, and the registered manager.

We observed support being provided on our visits to Ava House and viewed the home environment.

We reviewed 2 people's care records, 2 staff files. We reviewed a range of records regarding the management of the service, such as health and safety records, quality assurance checks, policies, and procedures.

Updated 17 December 2022

About the service

Ava House is a residential care home providing personal care to 4 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 5 people. The building has been adapted so each person has their own individual flat within the home.

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 most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance the Care Quality Commission (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:

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. The service had changed the home so each person had their own private flat to maximise independence and control. We saw staff supporting choice and control during our inspection.

Right Care:

The care was person-centred and promoted individuals’ human rights. People had different interests and activities. One person had been supported to gain independence with their health condition and learn daily living skills to help them with living as an ordinary person in their community. Many people said they liked the staff and how they were being supported. Staff were able to discuss people individually and knew how to support them well.

Right Culture:

The ethos, values, culture and attitudes of the managers and the staff were focussed on supporting people to have inclusive, confident, and empowered lives. Managers and staff were complimented by relatives on their inclusion of people and relatives in their decision making and the support they provided the people living in Ava House. Family members have told us they are happy with the support their relative receives and they are happy with Ava House.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 20 May 2021 and this is the first inspection. This inspection was prompted by a review of information we held about this service and based on when the service was registered.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection of a new service registration.

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 the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Recommendations

We have made two recommendations to improve systems for monitoring premises information and health and safety.

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.