Ashby Court

Updated 26 April 2019

The inspection:

• We carried out our inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. Our inspection checked whether the provider was 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.

Inspection team:

• Our inspection was completed by one adult social care 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. Our expert-by-experience was familiar with the care of people with learning disabilities.

Service and service type:

• Ashby Court is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or 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.

• The service is required to have a registered manager. 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. At the time of our inspection, a manager was registered with us.

• 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.

Notice of inspection:

• Our inspection was unannounced.

• The inspection site visit occurred on 5 March 2019.

What we did:

• Our inspection was informed by evidence we already held about the service. We also checked for feedback we received from members of the public and the local authority. We checked records held by Companies House and the Food Standards Agency.

• We asked the service 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.

• We spoke with five people living in the service, two relatives, the registered manager and two staff members. We observed relationships between people and staff. We saw how staff members supported people throughout the inspection to help us understand peoples’ experiences of living in the home.

• We reviewed two people’s care records, two staff personnel files, medicines administration records and other records relating to the management of the service.

• We asked the registered manager to send us further information after our inspection. This was received and used as evidence for our ratings.

Updated 26 April 2019

About the service:

• The service is in a rural setting, near to Skegness in Lincolnshire.

• The service provides accommodation and personal care to people with learning disabilities and autism. Ashby Court is a complex of six small houses accommodating up to 11 people near the centre of Spilsby, Lincolnshire. The houses are purposely designed to promote independent living. At the time of our inspection there were 10 people living in the service.

People's experience of using this service:

• Audit processes were not comprehensively in place to ensure all risks had been managed and reduced. Questionnaires had been supplied to people for their views of the service though not to staff, external professionals and relatives.

• People were provided with a safe service though staff recruitment systems needed to be strengthened and any instances of suspected abuse reported to relevant agencies.

• People told us that people liked living at the service and that staff were friendly and caring towards them.

• People were assisted to have choice and control over their lives.

• People were protected against abuse, neglect and discrimination. Staff members were aware of ensuring people's safety and acting when necessary to prevent any harm.

• Staff members knew people well and people enjoyed spending time with them.

• People had a say in how the service was operated and managed.

• Activities were always available to people and they were assisted to have opportunities to work and to go to communal activities outside the service.

• People's care was personalised to their individual needs.

• The service met the characteristics for a rating of "Good" in key questions except well led, where it was rated Requires Improvement.

Rating at last inspection:

• The service was rated "good". Our last report was published for the inspection of 14 July 2016.

Why we inspected:

• This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up:

• We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people received safe, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned for future dates. For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk