Knells Country House

Updated 13 June 2023

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by an 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.

Service and service type

Knells Country House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Knells Country House is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. A new manager had been in post for 3 months and had submitted an application to register. We are currently assessing this application.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority, professionals who work with the service and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 2 people and a visitor and observed the support people received. We contacted 9 relatives for their views. We spoke with 7 staff including the manager, senior care staff, the cook, housekeeping and maintenance staff and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records including 5 people's care records and multiple medicines records. We looked at 3 staff files for recruitment checks and records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 13 June 2023

About the service

Knells Country House is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 24 people. The service provides support to older people, some of whom are living with dementia-related conditions. At the time of our inspection there were 18 people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People and relatives had many positive comments about the caring, welcoming and warm atmosphere in the home. Relatives said the service provided individual and fulfilling lifestyles for people.

People and relatives said it was a safe place to live. Risks to people were now assessed and managed in a safe way. There had been improvements to the way medicines were managed.

There were enough staff to support people. New staff were appropriately vetted before they started to work at the home.

Since the last inspection a new manager had been appointed. They were putting training and development plans in place for each staff member. Relatives commented on how knowledgeable staff were in supporting people.

People were supported with their individual dietary needs and preferences. They described the meals as “very good”. The staff team also supported people to access health care services when necessary.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff assisted them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service upheld this practice.

People, relatives and staff had confidence in the management of the home. The manager carried out audits to ensure the safe running of the service. Areas for improvement were set out in a development plan.

The provider was committed to continuing improvements at the home including a refurbishment plan with input from people, relatives and staff members.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 9 November 2022). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 13 September 2022. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve good governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Knells Country House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.