Ashford House provides care and accommodation for up to 10 people living with mental illnesses and learning difficulties. At the time of this inspection, there were nine people living at the home.
A registered manager was in post when we visited. 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 we spoke with told us they felt safe. They knew what to do if they felt they had been badly treated or if they wished to complain. Staff confirmed they been trained how to identify and report any incidents of abuse they may witness.
Any potential risks to individual people had been identified and appropriately managed.
There were sufficient numbers of staff on duty with the necessary skills and experience to meet people’s needs.
People’s medicines had been administered and managed safely.
People who were able had given consent to the care and support they received. Where they were not able the registered manager had ensured best interest decisions had been made.
The registered manager and staff understood their role in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). However staff did not fully understand how the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) should be put into practice. These safeguards protect the rights of people by ensuring, if there are any restrictions to their freedom and liberty, these have been authorised by the local authority as being required to protect the person from harm. DoLS applications had been made on behalf of people who had capacity to make decisions and, therefore did not uphold people’s right to consent where they were able.
People were provided with support to access health care services in order to meet their needs.
Positive, caring relationships had been developed with staff to ensure people received the support they needed. They were encouraged to express their views and to be actively involved in making decisions about the support they received to maintain the lifestyle they have chosen.
The culture of the service was open, transparent and supportive. People and their relatives were encouraged to express their views and suggestions used by the provider to make improvements.