Kingston Care Home

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

The service had made improvements and no longer in breach of regulations. The service was now managed well by a registered manager who was well regarded by people, relatives, staff and partners that worked with the service. The registered manager understood the needs of people using the service and supported staff to meet these needs by delivering safe, high quality care to people, in line with the service’s vision and values. People and staff were encouraged to raise concerns and these were listened to. Staff were provided fair and equal opportunity at work and felt valued and respected. Effective systems were now in place to check and audit the quality and safety of the service. Issues identified through checks and audits were acted on and used to support staff to improve their working practices. The registered manager understood their role and responsibilities and demonstrated compliance with regulatory requirements. Feedback was sought from people and staff about how the service could be improved and this was used, with other learning, to make improvements to the service when this was required. The service worked with partners to continually improve the service for people to help them achieve positive outcomes from the care and support they received.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff were supported to deliver high quality care and support to people in line with the provider’s vision and values for the service. The registered manager told us, “We have been checking with staff on a regular basis what the values mean to them and their roles and how they bring this to their work and we also do this in appraisals.”

Systems and processes had been designed in line with the service’s vision and values and focused on people and meeting their individual needs. The registered manager used supervision and staff team meetings to make sure staff remained focussed and understood how the service’s vision and values should be achieved through their working practices.

The service had made improvements and was now managed well. The registered manager was highly regarded by people, relatives and the staff team. A staff member told us, “I think [registered manager] has done an amazing job managing this place and can take a lot of the credit for how this place has improved in recent years. He managed to recruit lots of new staff, so we were no longer so reliant on temporary agency staff. This has meant staff morale has shot up and the number of staff leaving has significantly fallen in the last 2 years.” The registered manager understood the priorities for the service and had a clear plan for how these would be achieved.

The service had made improvements and no longer in breach of regulations. A stable and consistent management team was now in place at the service. The provider had systems in place to support the management team with their continuous learning and development to help them remain effective in their roles. The registered manager received regular support from the provider to make sure the priorities and aims for the service were met. The registered manager stayed up to date with relevant training and current practice and guidance. They told us, “I’m registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and all of our nurses have to do revalidation and we sit together and cover training that we complete and share and learn practice. When I do training I always look at the follow up materials and good practice to learn more.”

Managers valued and listened to the views of staff. Staff told us they were encouraged to contribute their ideas about what the service did well and what they could do better during regular supervision and teams meetings. The registered manager encouraged an open, positive culture in which all feedback was welcomed. They told us, “We have a residents’ meeting once a month and we tell people through that forum to raise concerns and we take action if concerns are raised. We also have the survey for residents and relatives and we work through any concerns we receive. We also have the whistleblowing policy and this is on display and easily accessible to staff.”

Systems were in place to support people and staff to speak up and share any concerns they had. People and staff were informed about how to report concerns and how these would be dealt with by the provider. The registered manager used supervision meetings to discuss any individual concerns staff had and staff were encouraged to speak freely and without fear of consequences.

Staff told us they were treated well by a supportive management team who always treated them equally and fairly. They also said they worked well together as part of a varied and diverse workforce. The registered manager understood the importance of a fair and inclusive workplace for all staff.

The provider had systems in place to support all staff to continuously learn and develop in the role. There were opportunities for career progression which were available to any staff member that wanted this. Staff were provided support through relevant training and supervision to inform their knowledge and understanding of equality, inclusivity and fairness in the workplace.

The service had made improvements and managers and staff now had a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities in relation to assessing, monitoring and managing the quality and safety of the service. Managers told us they routinely undertook audits to check specific records and tasks. They said these audits and checks were analysed at regular intervals to identify performance shortfalls, learn lessons and develop action plans to improve the safety and quality of care and support people received. The registered manager understood and demonstrated compliance with regulatory requirements. They also understood their responsibility to provide honest information, suitable support and to apply duty of candour where appropriate.

The service had made improvements and no longer in breach of regulations. Better systems were in place to check and audit the quality and safety of the care and support provided to people. There was a regular programme of audit to review practices, conducted at both provider and service level. The quality of information recorded and maintained on people’s records had also improved. The findings from audits and key performance data, including data relating to safeguarding, incidents and clinical needs, were reviewed and discussed as part of regular quality and clinical governance reports and meetings. These reports clearly presented trends and themes and were used to make any changes required and support staff to improve their working practices.

People were supported to give their feedback about how the service could be improved for them. The registered manager acted on people’s feedback to make improvements that people wanted. This ensured the service was designed and delivered in line with people’s needs, wishes and preferences.

Staff were provided regular opportunities to share their views and give feedback about how the service could be improved for people. The registered manager was responsive to feedback and acted on this to positively improve the experiences of people using the service.

Partners had positive experiences of working with the provider to collaborate on the delivery of safe, high quality care to people. A healthcare professional told us, “The care home has positively responded to client recommended care planning approach suitable for their care needs.” Another healthcare professional said, “Kingston Care Home is not only responsive but proactive in delivering care to residents and their families.”

Arrangements were in place for the service to work proactively with partners when required and seek their guidance and recommendations about how to support people achieve positive outcomes and experiences. The registered manager met with partners when needed, to share learning and experiences about the delivery of people’s care and support. This was then shared with the staff team to help them improve their practice and deliver high quality care and support to people.

improvement to ensure people received safe, high quality, care and support. Managers told us audits and checks undertaken at service and provider level were routinely analysed to identify performance shortfalls and learn lessons, so the service could continuously improve. Staff said information about any lessons learnt was shared with them during supervision and team meetings.

Systems were in place to obtain feedback from people and staff to help the service learn and improve. The registered manager used the learning from feedback, along with outcomes from audits and checks, to make improvements to the quality and safety of the care and support provided to people.