Ashbury Care Home

Updated 29 March 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 team consisted of 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 at this inspection had experience of caring for older people.

Service and service type:

Ashbury 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.

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 was an unannounced inspection, which meant the provider and staff were not aware that we were coming. We carried out our inspection on 12 March 2019.

What we did:

Before inspection:

•We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). Providers are required to send us key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

•Notifications we received from the service about important events.

•Information sent to us from other stakeholders for example the local authority and members of the public.

•We sought feedback from professionals who work with the home, including health and the local authority.

During the inspection:

•We spoke with 11 people who use the service, two relatives, the registered manager, area manager, two care staff, the chef, the activities co-ordinator and a cleaner.

•We pathway tracked the care of three people. Pathway tracking is where we check that the care detailed in individual plans matches the experience of the person receiving care.

•We reviewed records including accident and incident logs, quality assurance records, compliments and complaints, policies and procedures and two staff recruitment records.

Updated 29 March 2019

About the service:

Ashbury is a 29-bedded care home without nursing providing 24-hour care for people with mental health needs that include schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder. The home also provides support to people who may have a learning disability. The home is situated in Bognor Regis. At the time of our inspection there were 29 people living at the home.

Ashbury has 29 ensuite bedrooms located over two floors which are accessible via stairs or lift shafts. The home had two large communal areas and a garden at the rear of the home.

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

People’s experience of using this service:

•People and relatives told us they felt the home was a safe place to be and felt comfortable to raise concerns with staff. One person told us, “The care and attention is the best thing about here.”

•People were supported to live as independently as possible and told us that their needs were met. Activities took place on a daily basis and people were encouraged to participate if they wanted to. One person told us, “The best thing is it’s very sociable here”. Another person said, I do feel I get what I need here and the activities are not bad. I get to go out with a carer sometimes.”

•Relatives and visitors were welcomed to visit people and given the privacy to talk. One relative told us, “The communication is good, and I can ring the staff about anything anytime. We have always felt welcome here.”

•People and relatives told us that staff treated them with kindness and we observed friendly interactions throughout the day. One person told us, “Staff are marvellous and they are all so kind.”

•People were happy with the food and said they were given a choice of home cooked meals. One person told us, “The food is excellent and the chef is good.”

•People were supported by trained staff who were knowledgeable and knew how to care for people, in line with their needs and preferences.

•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.

•The provider had quality assurance systems in place to monitor the standard of care and

drive improvement. Systems supported people to stay safe and reduce the risks to them, ensuring they were cared for in a person-centred way.

•People, relatives and staff spoke positively about the culture of the home and said it was well managed. One person told us, “I do believe the place is well run.” Another person said, “Staff do work as a good unit, they seem quite happy”

More information is in Detailed Findings below.

Rating at last inspection: Good (Following the previous inspection on 16 May 2016 the provider changed its registration to a Limited Company.) The provider registered the new service with the CQC on 6 December 2018.

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the intelligence we receive about this home and plan to inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated Good.