Ashness Lodge

Updated 2 December 2023

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.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Ashness Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Ashness Lodge is a care home without nursing care. 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 the Care Quality Commission 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

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used the information we held about the service to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 2 staff including the registered manager. We spoke with 1 person using the service. We observed staff interactions with people and reviewed care plans, risk plans, medicine records and care notes. We also reviewed a range of audits, maintenance, meeting minutes and staff records.

Updated 2 December 2023

About the service

Ashness Lodge is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 5 people. The service provides support to adults with mental health needs. At the time of our inspection there were 4 people using the service. The service is provided from 1 building over 2 floors.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

People told us they felt safe living at the home. Medicines was managed safely. Staff were recruited in a safe way, which meant people could be assured that staff had been vetted before starting in their role. Staff understood how to prevent the spread of infections. Care plans outlined people's needs and risks of harm were mitigated as much as possible. Staff understood how to protect people from abuse as there was a clear safeguarding process in place.

Managers and leaders were well equipped to manage the home. There was clear oversight from senior leadership. Governance processes were effective and robust, and concerns could be picked up and addressed without delay. Staff told us they were well supported and could speak up if they needed to. People and staff were involved in the service delivery.

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.

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 22 July 2018).

Why we inspected

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key question not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Ashness Lodge 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.