Ashdale

Updated 1 February 2019

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 16 December 2018 and was announced. We gave the service short notice of the inspection visit because the location was a small care home for younger adults who are often out during the day. We needed to be sure that they would be in. The inspection was carried out by one Adult Social Care Inspector.

Before the inspection, we looked at information we held about the provider and home. This included their Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We also looked at ¿notifications we had received. A notification is information about important events which the ¿service is required to send us by law.

We spoke with the registered manager, one senior support worker, one support worker and the regional manager. We requested feedback from one health professional.

We spoke with four people living at Ashdale and one of their relatives. We also used observations of how staff interacted with people and provided support.

We looked at two people’s care records and their medicine records. We also looked at records that ¿related to how the service was managed, such as staff rotas, staff training records, policies and quality ¿assurance audits.

Updated 1 February 2019

Ashdale is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and 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. Ashdale is registered to provide support to four people with learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection there were four people living there.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

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.

The service has a safe, friendly and homely atmosphere. The service benefits from a stable staff team who know the people living at the service well. This has allowed them to develop professional effective and caring relationships with people living at the home.

People are supported to be as independent as possible and the service continues to work with people to develop their independence further. This is done in the service and on regular activities in the community.

People are supported in a person centred way. It is clear that the staff value the people living at Ashdale and treat them as individuals. They allow them to make decisions about their care and support. It was also clear that the staff thought of Ashdale as the people’s home and not just their work place.

The service supports people to access health services effectively.

The people living at Ashdale are encouraged to develop and maintain relationships with other people living in the community and their relatives.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.