Ability Ash Lodge

Updated 14 May 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:

A team of two inspectors completed the inspection.

Service and service type:

Ability Ash Lodge provides personal care to people in their own homes and also has accommodation registered where personal care can be provided to people on a respite basis.

This service supports four people living in a ‘supported living’ setting, so they can live as independently as possible. They also provide domiciliary care to two people under our regulated activity. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living or domiciliary care; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support in those areas.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles 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 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 received planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

The service had two managers 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:

We gave the service six days' notice of the inspection site visit so that the provider could ask for people's consent for us to visit them in their homes.

What we did:

We used information we held about the home which included notifications the provider sent us to plan this inspection. We also used the completed Provider Information Return (PIR). 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. However, the provider had completed this nine months previously and we therefore gave opportunities for them to update us throughout the inspection.

We used a range of different methods to help us understand people's experiences. We observed the support people received from staff when in communal areas.

We spoke with the two registered managers, the chief executive officer, three senior care staff, and three care staff. We spoke with one person’s relatives by telephone the day before the inspection. We also spoke with a health and social care professional by telephone after the inspection. We reviewed support plans for five people to check they were accurate and up to date. We also looked at medicines administration records and reviewed systems the provider had in place to ensure the quality of the service was continuously monitored and reviewed to drive improvement. These included accidents and incidents analysis, meetings minutes and quality audits.

Updated 14 May 2019

About the service: Ability Ash Lodge provides personal care to people in their own homes and also has accommodation registered where personal care can be provided to people on a respite basis. There is one property providing supported living services. At the time of the inspection, there were four people using the respite services and 6 people being supported in their own homes receiving the regulated activity of personal care.

People’s experience of using this service:

The service met the characteristics of good in all areas.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support in the following ways. People were supported by staff to exercise choice in how they lived their lives. Staff supported people to engage in full lives both at home and out in the community.

People continued to receive safe care. Staff understood their responsibility around safeguarding people and they knew how to recognise abuse. Risks to people were assessed and managed well by staff. There were enough staff who were appropriately trained and recruited to support people. People received their medicines as prescribed and there were good infection prevention and control practices in place to protect people.

The care given continued to be effective. People were 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. People had access to healthcare services and received coordinated support, to ensure their preferences and needs were met. People were supported to maintain a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.

Staff were kind and caring when interacting with people. We received many positive comments from relatives and health and social care staff. Staff respected every person’s privacy and dignity. Staff supported people to be involved in their care.

The staff and provider continued to be responsive. People had personalised support plans that staff regularly reviewed. People’s support plans included information about their wishes and goals and incorporated information about empowering people to be independent. Staff identified people’s information and communication needs by assessing them. Complaints were appropriately followed-up by the provider.

All staff shared the positive culture and vision to support people’s health and wellbeing. The registered managers were transparent, open and collaborative with external agencies. There was a passionate culture for change and improvement seen in all staff.

More information is in the full report below.

Rating at last inspection: Rated as good, report published 18 August 2016.

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

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