Ashdown Close - Southport

Updated 10 January 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 12 December 2017 and was announced.

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

The inspection was carried out by an adult social care inspector.

We reviewed the information we held about the service before we carried out the visit. We collated information we had about the home and contacted the social care professionals responsible for placing the young people in the home to seek feedback. Prior to the inspection the provider had submitted a Provider Information Return (PIR) to us. The PIR is a document the provider is required to submit to us which provides key information about the service, and tells us what the provider considers the service does well and details any improvements they intend to make.

During the inspection we used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people who lived at Ashdown Close. This was because the people who lived at Ashdown Close communicated in different ways and we were not always able to directly ask them their views about their experiences. We spent a short time observing the support provided to one person who lived in the home to help us understand their experiences of the service. Our observations showed the person appeared relaxed and at ease with the staff. We spoke with two staff, including a manager. The home manager was unable to support us with the inspection. After the inspection we spoke with two relatives.

We looked at the care records for two people, as well as medication records, three staff recruitment files and other records relevant to the quality monitoring of the service. These included safety audits and quality audits. We undertook general observations and looked round the home.

Updated 10 January 2018

The inspection took place on 12 December 2017 and was announced.

Ashdown Close is a ‘care home’ for two people with autism. 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. The property is situated in a residential area, close to public transport links, shops and other community facilities. There were two people living in the home at the time of the inspection.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good. The service met all relevant fundamental standards.

People living at Ashdown Close were not able to tell us whether they felt safe living at the home. However, we found the provider had robust measures in place to ensure people were safe.

Medicines were managed safely and people received their medicines as prescribed.

Staff had been trained to administer medicines in order to ensure errors were kept to a minimum.

Staff had been appropriately recruited to ensure they were suitable to work with vulnerable adults. Staff were recruited, trained and supported to ensure they had the right attributes and skills to offer effective care to the people living at Ashdown Close. Staff received a programme of mandatory training, which was updated as required. There was sufficient staff on duty to meet people's needs.

The home was well maintained and in good decorative order. Measures were in place to ensure the environment was safe and suitable for the people who lived there.

People's needs were assessed prior to their admission to the home. Care plans were completed to demonstrate the support required. Referrals were made to health care professionals when changes in health care needs were identified.

People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The staff showed kindness towards the people in the home. The people who lived at Ashdown Close used non-verbal communication. Each person's ways of communicating had been recorded.

People were supported to maintain their independence with activities of daily living (personal care, laundry, shopping). People accessed community services such as pubs for lunch, swimming pools, walking groups, visits to parks and shops.

People received personalised care that was responsive to their needs. Care plans were written for the individual and informed staff of their preferences and wishes.

The provider had a complaints policy in place but no complaints had been received.

We found there to be a person-centred and open culture in the home. Staff reported that managers were "easy to approach" and "very supportive".

There was a manager in post who had applied to the Commission to become the registered manager. Their application was on-going. 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.

Quality assurance and governance processes were in place to assess the safety and quality of the service. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) had been notified of events and incidents that occurred in the home in accordance with our statutory notifications. The rating from the previous inspection of Ashdown Close was displayed in the office; a more visible location in the home is preferable.