Asterbury Place

People’s experience of using this service:

We found that people living here experienced extremely good levels of care, support and had positive outcomes. The management of the service had not only sustained good practice but had gone on to enhance the service on offer.

• People benefitted from an outstanding responsive and well-led service. Care and support was tailored to meet people’s needs and to ensure flexibility, choice and continuity of care. People were involved in and consulted about all aspects of their care and support. People told us that staff had an excellent understanding of their social and cultural diversity, values and beliefs and how these might influence their decisions on how they wanted to receive care and support.

• The home promoted understanding and a positive attitude towards different types of disability and difference. Staff had opportunities for learning, development and reflective practice on equality and diversity, which influenced how the home was developed.

• Arrangements for social activities were innovative, met people’s individual needs, and followed best practice guidance so people could live as full a life as possible. People were consulted about events before and after the event. Photographs throughout the home showed people taking part in a wide range of activities, events and celebrations throughout the year. The home had a key role in the local community and links with other community organisations which provided information and support to people.

• The culture in the home focused high-quality, person-centred care. Staff put people at the heart of the service and their views were at the core of home’s quality monitoring and assurance arrangements. Staff were motivated by and proud of the home. Continuous learning was embedded in the home’s culture.

• People felt safe at the home and there were the systems and processes in place to safeguard them. People had risk assessments so staff knew how to keep them safe. The premises were safe for people. Regular safety checks were carried out on the environment and on the equipment used. There were enough suitable staff on duty to meet people’s needs. People were provided with their medicines in a safe way. All areas of the home were clean, fresh, and tidy. The provider and registered manager ensured lessons were learnt and improvements made when things went wrong.

• People’s social care, healthcare and cultural needs were assessed prior to them moving into the home. They told us staff supported them to access health care services when they needed to. The staff team were well-trained and knew how to meet people’s individual needs. People told us they liked the food served. The kitchen catered for a range of dietary and cultural needs including vegetarian, Caribbean, and diabetic. The home was purpose-built and provided people with spacious and accessible accommodation including a range of communal areas. Staff understood the importance of people consenting to their care and support.

• The atmosphere in the home was warm and friendly. People experienced positive caring relationships with the staff team. Staff assisted people in a kind and reassuring manner. People were encouraged to express their views and make decisions about their daily routines. They said staff helped them to maintain their independence. Staff treated people with dignity and respect. People were supported to maintain relationships with relatives and friends. Visitors were made welcome by staff and invited to events and celebrations.

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

Rating at last inspection: We rated Asterbury Place as good and published our report on 2 July 2016.

Why we inspected: Previously we had rated this service as good and therefore have been back to check that it had remained a good quality service.

Follow up: Going forward we will continue to monitor this service and plan to inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated outstanding.

Asterbury Place is a care home which provides nursing care. When fully occupied the home provides personal and nursing care to up to 80 older people. During our inspection there were 77 people living in the home, some are living with dementia.

The service has a registered manager in place. 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.

People living in the home told us that it is a good place to live, they like the environment and they told us the staff were kind and caring. There were enough staff to support people safely and staff knew what to do if they suspected someone may be being abused or harmed. Recruitment practices were robust and contributed to protecting people from staff who were unsuitable to work in care. Medicines were managed and stored properly and safely so that people received them as the prescriber intended.

Staff had received the training they needed to understand how to meet people’s needs. They understood the importance of gaining consent from people before delivering their care or treatment. Staff were clear about their roles. Where people were not able to give informed consent staff and the manager ensured their rights were protected.

People enjoyed their meals and had enough to eat and drink to meet their needs and staff assisted or prompted people with meals and fluids if they needed support.

Staff treated people with warmth and compassion. They were respectful of people’s privacy and dignity and offered comfort and reassurance when people were distressed or unsettled. Staff also made sure that people who were becoming unwell were referred promptly to healthcare professionals for treatment and advice about their health and welfare.

Staff showed commitment to understanding and responding to each person’s needs and preferences so that they could engage meaningfully with people. Outings and outside entertainment was offered to people and staff offered activities on a daily basis.

Staff understood the importance of responding to and resolving concerns quickly if they were able to do so. Staff also ensured that more serious complaints were passed on to the management team for investigation. People and their representatives told us that any complaints they made would be addressed by the manager.

The service had consistent leadership. The staff told us that the manager was supportive and easy to talk to. The manager was responsible for monitoring the quality and safety of the service and asked people for their views so that improvements identified were made where possible. The organisation also carried out quality assurance visits, set action plans and checked the actions had been undertaken.