This inspection took place on two days; 30 December 2015 and 14 January 2016 and was unannounced.
The previous inspection was in November 2013 and we found the home was meeting all the standards inspected at that time.
Ashness House is a care home registered to provide care and accommodation to five people with mental health needs. There were three men living in the home at the time of our inspection. Each person had a single room with an ensuite bathroom and shared a kitchen, dining room and lounge. This home accommodated men only.
The home had two registered managers. One of them worked full time at the home and the other, a director of the company Ashness Care Ltd, worked across their two care homes and supported living services. The registered manager we refer to throughout this report works full time at Ashness House.
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.
This home aims to increase people’s independence skills. Since the last inspection two people had progressed on to less supported accommodation after developing their shopping, budgeting, cooking and self-medication skills whilst living at this home.
People told us that there were enough staff to meet their needs during the day and night.
Staff were trained in safeguarding people. Each person had a risk assessment and risk management plan. People were supported to make decisions about their care and lifestyles and to attend health care appointments when needed. Staff received support and supervision in their role. They were able to provide personalised support to three people who had very different needs.
People were offered the opportunity to undertake a range of activities of their choice, but their decisions were respected if they chose not to. Two people were going out regularly with staff support to go shopping, walking and to exercise classes. All three people said they were very happy with the service provided at the home and liked all the staff. People knew how to make a complaint and felt comfortable raising any concerns with staff if they were unhappy.
There were quality assurance systems in place for the service, and people felt supported by the home’s management.