Ashwood House Limited (Ilford)

Ashwood House Limited (Ilford) is a residential care home providing the regulated activity of accommodation and personal care to up to 17 people. The service provides support to adults with mental health needs. At the time of our inspection there were 9 people using the service.

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

Systems were in place to protect people from abuse. Risk assessments were in place which set out the risks people faced and included information about how to mitigate those risks. Steps had been taken to help ensure the premises were safe. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and the provider had robust staff recruitment practices in place. Medicines were managed in a safe way. Accidents and incidents were reviewed so learning could be made from them to reduce the risks of similar incidents re-occurring. Infection control and prevention measures were in place.

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.

Quality assurance and monitoring systems were in place to help drive improvements at the service. There was an open and positive culture at the service, which meant people, relatives and staff could express their views. The provider worked with other agencies to develop best practice and share knowledge.

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 January 2018).

Why we inspected

We had not inspected this service for more than 5 years and we needed to check that people were still receiving safe care.

Follow up

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

Ashwood House Limited (Ilford) 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. It is registered to provide support to a maximum of 17 people and 15 people were using the service at the time of our inspection.

The service had a 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.

There were enough staff working at the service to meet people’s needs and robust staff recruitment procedures were in place. Appropriate safeguarding procedures were in place. Risk assessments provided information about how to support people in a safe manner. Procedures were in place to reduce the risk of the spread of infection. Medicines were managed in a safe manner.

People’s needs were assessed before they started using the service to determine if those needs could be met. Staff received on-going training to support them in their role. People were able to make choices for themselves and the service operated within the spirit of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People told us they enjoyed the food. People were supported to access relevant health care professionals.

People told us they were treated with respect and that staff were caring. Staff had a good understanding of how to promote people’s privacy, independence and dignity.

Care plans were in place which set out how to meet people’s individual needs. They were subject to regular review. People were supported to engage in various activities. The provider had a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to make a complaint.

Staff and people spoke positively about the senior staff at the service. Quality assurance and monitoring systems were in place which included seeking the views of people who used the service and others.

A health professional who referred people to this service told us that they felt the service was of high quality and that people who used it were supported very well and were safe.

We found that people were asked for their consent before care or treatment was provided and that the provider acted in accordance with people's wishes, for example by helping people to save their money but not controlling when and how they chose to spend it.

We found that people were provided with sufficient food and fluids to meet their needs, but that in addition people were encouraged to choose foods they would like to be supported to cook. We observed a person appearing to very much enjoy cooking their own food which they were then going to share with other people who used this service.

We found that there were effective arrangements in place for keeping people safe and that where concerns were raised these would be dealt with swiftly and comprehensively. We also found that processes were in place to ensure the environment was kept clean and that infections were controlled.

We saw that there was a system in place to encourage people to comment on their views about the support they had received and, where they wished to, to make a complaint. This system also logged all complaints and recorded how they were investigated and what actions had been taken as a result.

The provider has implemented effective systems that support staff and had enabled people using the service to maximise their functioning and independence.