Archived: Kemps Place

Updated 14 April 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on the 25th and 26th of February 2016 and was unannounced. Our visits were carried out by two inspectors.

Before we carried out our inspection we looked at the information we hold about the service. This included notifications received by us. Notifications are changes, events, or incidents that providers must legally inform us about. We reviewed this information and information requested from the local authority safeguarding team and quality assurance teams. We did not request a Provider Information Return (PIR) form. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the home, what the home does well and improvements they plan to make.

During our inspection we spoke with ten people living in the home, a visiting social worker, a visiting psychiatrist, and a student social worker on placement in the home. We spoke with four members of staff and the registered manager.

We observed how care and support was provided to people in the home. Some residents showed us the flats they were living in.

We looked at three people’s care records, medication records, three staff recruitment files and staff training records. We looked at other documentation such as quality monitoring, accidents and incidents and maintenance records. We saw compliments and complaints records and records from staff and residents’ meetings.

Updated 14 April 2016

This inspection was unannounced and took place on the 25 and 26 February 2016.

Kemps Place is a service that provides accommodation and personal care to people who may have a mental health condition, learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. The home is registered for up to 31 people. It is not registered to provide nursing care. Kemps Place is a purpose built care home that provides 30 identical self-contained flats. Each flat has a bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom. On the days of our inspection there were 30 people living in the home and another person was in the process of moving in.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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 living at the home were protected from harm as staff had received appropriate training to support them to identify and report harm and to protect people from discrimination. In addition people were happy to raise concerns if they felt unsafe. Actions were taken to protect people from coming to harm. Risk assessments were in place for people living in the home as well as premises and equipment.

People were supported by sufficient staff with the right skills and knowledge to meet their individual needs. Safe recruitment practices were being followed and the registered manager took action against staff involved in unsafe practice. Medication was managed appropriately, risks around self-medication were reviewed and responded to.

Staff had the knowledge and skills to meet people’s needs, preferences and choices. This included training and support that equipped them to carry out their role. People were provided with good support to eat and drink enough. Staff encouraged people to think about healthy food options and supported to maintain a balanced diet.

The CQC is required to monitor the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and report on what we find. Staff understood how the MCA applied to the people they worked with. The service sought people’s consent regarding their care. No one was being deprived of their liberty at the time of our visit.

People had positive caring relationships with staff who respected their privacy and dignity. They were supported to express their views and were involved in decisions about their care and support. The service had a clear emphasis on supporting people’s independence.

The care provided was responsive and met people’s individual needs and preferences. People were involved in planning and reviewing their care. This meant staff knew about people’s individual needs, preferences and what support they wanted.

There were varied activities for people, these included group activities as well as opportunities for people to participate in activities of their choice. The service had built relationships with their local community and people could access local groups and clubs.

The service had a positive culture that was person-centred, open, inclusive and empowering. People were involved in decisions about the service and there were systems in place to encourage feedback about the home and the care provided. There were quality checks in place and the registered manager took action when issues were identified. The registered manager and provider were visible in the service. People were positive about the running of the home and the support the registered manager provided.