The inspection of Ashlea Court Care Home took place on 17 May 2017 and was unannounced. This is the first rated inspection of the service under the new regulated provider Roseberry Care Centres GB Ltd.

Ashlea Court Care Home was purpose built several years ago and was registered to provider accommodation and care to persons who require nursing or personal care. Since the new registered provider took registration of the service in June 2016 the service has not provided nursing care.

Ashlea Court Care Home now provides support to a maximum of 48 older people who may also be living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 39 people using the service. Bedroom accommodation is on two floors, accessed by a passenger lift and there are communal lounges, dining areas, a hair-dressing salon, an activities annexe and enclosed garden spaces for people to make use of.

The registered provider was required to have a registered manager in post. On the day of the inspection there had been a registered manager in post for the last year. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

The registered provider had systems in place to detect, monitor and report potential or actual safeguarding concerns. Staff were appropriately trained in safeguarding adults from abuse and understood their responsibilities in respect of managing potential or actual safeguarding concerns. Risks were managed and reduced so that people avoided injury or harm.

The premises were safely maintained and there was evidence in the form of maintenance certificates, contracts and records to show this. Staffing numbers, calculated with a dependency tool, were sufficient to meet people’s need. Recruitment policies, procedures and practices were carefully followed to ensure staff were suitable to support vulnerable people. We found that medicines were safely managed.

People were supported by qualified and competent staff that were regularly supervised and had their personal performance appraised. Communication was effective and people’s rights were protected. Staff had knowledge and understanding of their roles and responsibilities in respect of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and they understood the importance of people being supported to make decisions for themselves. The registered manager explained how the service worked with other health and social care professionals and family members to ensure decisions were made in people’s best interests where they lacked capacity.

Adequate nutrition and hydration was provided to maintain people’s health and wellbeing. The premises were suitable for providing care to older people and those living with dementia.

Staff were kind and knew about people’s needs and preferences. People were involved in all aspects of their care and were always asked for their consent before staff undertook to support them. People’s wellbeing, privacy, dignity and independence were monitored and respected. This ensured people were respected, that they felt satisfied and were enabled to take control of their lives.

Support was provided to people in accordance with their person-centred care plans, which reflected their needs well and were regularly reviewed. People had the opportunity to engage in activities if they wished to and these were facilitated after consulting people about their preferences. Good family and friend connections were encouraged. We found that there was an effective complaint procedure in place and people had their complaints investigated without bias.

The service was well-led and people had the benefit of a positive culture and the management style. There was an effective system in place for