Archived: Kingsmead Care Home

At the last inspection on 21 and 22 February 2017 the service was rated Requires Improvement in Safe and Well-led domains, and overall. Caring, Effective and Responsive domains were rated as Good.

At this inspection we found the service improved to Good in Safe and Well-led domains and Good overall. Caring, Effective and Responsive remained Good.

On our last inspection we found the provider’s quality assurance processes were not always effective. We issued a requirement notice and asked the provider to submit the action plan how they were going to address these concerns. The registered manager promptly wrote to us to say how they were going to meet the requirements in relation to breach of Regulation 17. We found the systems to monitor the service had improved and allowed the team to identify areas for improvement effectively. There was an open and transparent culture demonstrated by the team. People and relatives were positive about the team and how the service was run.

We also found the provider addressed the concerns around medicines management we identified on our last inspection and people received their medicines as prescribed. People remained safe at the service. Staff knew how to protect people’s safety and how to raise any safeguarding concerns. Risks related to people’s well-being were identified and guidance how to manage these risks was incorporated into people’s care planning.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the 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 team worked well together, staff praised the management and told us they were led by example. The staff were enthusiastic and there was a positive, cheerful atmosphere at the service.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and report on what we find. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible.

There were enough staff to keep people safe and people were supported with no unnecessary delay. The provider followed safe recruitment procedures when recruiting new staff. Staff had the relevant training and told us they felt well supported.

People were supported in a caring and compassionate way. Staff ensured people’s privacy was respected and they were treated with dignity. People’s confidentiality was maintained. People’s individual needs in relation to accessing information were respected.

The service worked well with external professionals when required. People were supported to access external health professionals when needed and to meet their nutritional needs. People were positive about the food at the service.

People’s needs were assessed prior to admission to Kingsmead and care plans in place that ensured people’s needs were recorded. People had opportunities to engage in social activities including one to one support if needed.

We inspected this service on 21 and 22 February 2017. Kingsmead Care Home provides accommodation, personal and nursing care for up to 43 older people. The home is located in central Swindon. At the time of our visit 31 people were using the service.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the 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.

People told us they were safe. Risks to people’s well-being were assessed and recorded. People were protected from the risk of abuse as staff had a clear understanding of their responsibilities to identify and report abuse. The registered manager ensured there were sufficient numbers of staff on duty to keep people safe. The registered provider followed safe recruitment procedures.

People received their medicine as prescribed and the medicine was kept securely. However, we identified issues around stock control and found the medicines that required cold storage were not always stored as per manufacturer’s instructions.

The provider ensured staff had been appropriately trained to meet the needs of the people. Staff were supervised in their roles and told us they were well supported. People were supported to meet their nutritional needs and have access to health professionals if needed.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and report on what we find. Staff and the registered manager understood the MCA and DoLS and the provider followed the legal requirements.

People benefitted from caring relationships with staff. People were cared for by caring staff that knew people well. Staff treated people with dignity and respect. People were encouraged to be independent and their cultural needs were respected.

People’s care records documented their needs and preferences for how they wished to be supported. The provider had a system in place that ensured people and their relatives had opportunities to provide feedback.

The provider had systems for monitoring and assessing the quality of the service. However, these were not always effective as they did not identify the issues we found on our inspection. The registered manager was open and transparent and acknowledged our findings.

We found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.

People who used the service told us they were satisfied with the service they received. People felt the staff supported them well and met their needs. One person who used the service said, "the staff are very friendly, they take time and make me feel safe."

The staff team were led by an enthusiastic, motivated manager.

The care records showed us that people's health needs had been assessed before they came to live in the home. These records included information from health and social care professionals which helped ensure that people got the care and treatment they needed.

People were supported to make decisions about their care and where able they consented to the care and treatment provided. When people lacked capacity decisions about their care were made in their best interests.

Each person had had an assessment of their needs and they had a series of care plans to meet these needs. Risks were assessed and action was taken to reduce risks to people and keep them safe.

Staff had accessed to information about the local safeguarding procedures. They had had training about different types of abuse and how to prevent and report abuse. This meant that staff were trained to support people and protect them.

There were appropriate recruitment processes. Staff had checks before they started to work with people. This ensured that people were supported by staff who were suitable to care for vulnerable people.

People were given information about the complaints procedure so that they knew how to make a complaint. Complaints were investigated and improvements were made to the service when needed.