The Ashurst

Updated 11 April 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 one inspector 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. The expert by experience on this inspection had experience of supporting a person with learning difficulties.

Service and service type:

The Ashurst 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. It accommodates up to 19 people in one adapted building.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that 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:

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did:

Prior to the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service since their last inspection. This included notifications received from the provider about deaths, accidents/incidents and safeguarding alerts which they are required to send us by law. We asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return. This is 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.

During the inspection we spoke with four people and two relatives to share their views about the support they received. We spoke with four staff members, the registered manager and the provider.

We looked at the care and review records for two people who used the service. We looked at records for how people were administered medicines as well as a range of records relating to the running of the service. This included incident and accident monitoring, auditing systems and complaints.

After the inspection visit the registered manager sent us further information about the service.

Updated 11 April 2019

About the service: The Ashurst is a residential care home located on the sea front. It provides personal care for up to 19 people. On the day of our inspection 16 people were being supported.

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People’s experience of using this service:

¿ People told us that The Ashurst was a good place to live. One person said “This is quite a nice place to live in, I wouldn’t want to move from here. The staff are so helpful.”

¿The staff team were consistent and knew people and their needs well.

¿ Staff were recruited safely and received on-going support and training to be effective in their roles.

¿ Risks had been assessed and actions put in place to mitigate any identified risks. These supported people’s independence as far as possible.

¿ People were supported by staff who were caring and supportive to their needs.

¿ People were supported to engage in a variety of activities which interested them.

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

¿ The service was well run and there were systems to assess and monitor the service and continuously improve.

The service had been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

Rating at last inspection: The service was rated Good at our last inspection.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection to check that this service remained Good.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned based on the rating. If we receive any concerns we may bring our inspection forward.

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