Ashdown House

Updated 22 April 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

This inspection was undertaken by 2 inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Ashdown House 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. Ashdown House 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 not a registered manager in post. A new manager had been in post for 3 months and had submitted an application to register. We are currently assessing this application.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spent time observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with 4 people who used the service and 5 relatives about the experience of the care provided. We spoke with 14 members of staff including senior care staff, care assistants, domestic staff, cook, maintenance person, deputy manager, manager, director and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people's care records, care delivery records and medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures and quality assurance records were also reviewed.

Updated 22 April 2023

About the service

Ashdown House is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 24 people aged 65 and over in one adapted building. At the time of the inspection 17 people were being supported.

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

Systems to monitor the quality and safety of the service were in place to ensure people received safe and person-centred care. This required time to be embedded in the service to ensure they were maintained, sustained and improvements continued.

Risks to people’s care had been identified and plans put in place to mitigate the risk. Staff understood how to protect people from harm and followed good hygiene practices to prevent and control infection. There were sufficient staff deployed to meet people's needs and people could be assured staff were recruited safely.

People could be assured they received their medicines as prescribed. Staff received training in managing medicines and their competencies had been checked.

People's needs were assessed, and care plans guided staff how to meet those needs. 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.

People were supported to eat and drink. Mealtime experience could be improved so that people were not assisted to the table too early, leaving them waiting for their meal. Staff were supported to improve their skills and a comprehensive training programme was in place.

Staff were described as caring and gentle. People could be assured their privacy and dignity was respected and their consent gained before any interaction with staff. People were supported to remain as independent as possible.

People were encouraged to remain in touch with their family and friends. There were group activities and opportunities for people take part in individual activities if they wished.

People knew how to raise a complaint. Their feedback was sought to help drive improvements.

The provider and manager were open to suggestions as to how to improve the service and supported staff through regular meetings and supervisions.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was inadequate (Published 9 December 2022) and there were breaches in regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

This service has been in Special Measures since 8 December 2022. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

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