Knowle Court

Updated 12 January 2024

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.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of 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

Knowle Court 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. 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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced

What we did before the inspection

We used the 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 reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local safeguarding team, local authority commissioners of 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 all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We reviewed a range of records. This included care and medication records for 6 people. We looked at a variety of records relating to staff training and recruitment, and the management of the service. We spoke with 8 members of staff including the registered manager who is also the nominated individual and co-provider, second co-provider, the home manager, 3 members of the care team and the cook. We spoke with 7 people who used the service and 1 relative.

Updated 12 January 2024

About the service

Knowle Court is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 22 people. The service provides support to older people, some of whom may be living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 22 people using the service.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

People were safe because systems were in place to make sure risks to people were assessed and actions taken to mitigate the risk. Medicines were managed safely.

There were enough staff to keep people safe. Staff received good support from the management team and followed a training programme that supported them in carrying out their roles.

People were protected from the spread of infection because good systems and processes were in place. People lived in a pleasant environment. They enjoyed the food at the home and spoke positively about the staff who cared for them.

People were involved in their care and we saw staff to be caring and attentive. People benefitted from staff working effectively with health and social care professionals.

People enjoyed the food and had plenty of choice. People’s nutritional needs were met.

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

Auditing had been used effectively to identify and address issues.

Complaints about the service were managed well.

People, their relatives and staff felt involved in the service and there were systems in place to promote this involvement.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good. Published 19 December 2017.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted by the date of the last inspection.

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection by selecting the ‘All inspection reports and timeline’ link for Knowle Court 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.