Ashcombe Court

Updated 21 May 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors and an expert by experience on the first day. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The expert by experience’s area of expertise was learning disabilities and autism. The second day was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

Ashcombe Court is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. 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 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:

The inspection was unannounced on the first day and announced on the second day.

What we did:

We reviewed information we had received about the service. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about. We assessed the information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection we spoke with six people living at the service and five members of staff, this included the registered manager. We spoke to one health and social care professional during the inspection and received feedback from three others. After the inspection we spoke with two relatives of people who lived at the service. We reviewed three people’s care and support records. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service such as incident and accident records, meeting minutes, training records, policies, audits and complaints.

Updated 21 May 2019

About the service: Ashcombe Court is a residential home. It provides accommodation and personal care for up to eight people with a learning disability, autism or mental health needs. At the time of the inspection there were eight people living at the service.

People’s experience of using this service: People felt safe and happy living at the service. People were supported by staff who knew people’s care and support needs well.

The service was person centred and supported people in their individual goals and wishes. Individual risks were identified, and guidance was in place to support people safely whilst maximising independence.

People enjoyed the food at the service. The environment was clean and homely. People were encouraged to personalise their living space. People chose how they wished to spend their time. For example, to access the community, take part in activities and go on trips and outings.

Feedback was gained from people through meetings and surveys. Systems were in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service.

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

Rating at last inspection: Good (January 2017)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating. However, the inspection was brought forward due to information of concern we had received from external sources. We reviewed the information we had received as part of our inspection process and found that it was not substantiated.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive. We will inspect in line with our inspection programme or sooner if required.