Knebworth Care Home

Updated 14 December 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 Care Act 2014.

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

This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Knebworth Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

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 manager who had applied to be registered in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 6 people who used the service and 4 relatives and friends about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with, and received feedback from, 8 members of staff including the manager, regional director, quality development manager, nurses and care workers. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 2 people’s care records and multiple medication records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed.

Updated 14 December 2023

About the service

Knebworth Care Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 64 people. At the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 71 people in a purpose-built building.

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

People and their relatives told us they were happy with the care provided and living at the service. They told us they felt safe. Infection control was promoted, and medicines were managed well.

People told us they felt listened to and staff were kind. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and their approach was person-centred.

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.

People and their relatives told us they could speak up. There were meetings and contact with people, relatives and staff to get their views. Feedback was collated and shared. Lessons were learned from events, accidents and feedback.

The manager had recently changed but the service had been well supported by the provider’s management team while waiting for the new manager to start. The new manager started at the home just before the inspection commenced but feedback about their approach was positive.

There were quality assurance systems in place and these were used effectively to help maintain and further develop the standards in the home.

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 inspection for this service was a focused inspection and therefore was not rated (published 30 March 2021). The last rated inspection for this service found the rating to be good (published 28 June 2018).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about leadership, falls and incidents and staffing. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well led sections of this full report.

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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.

The overall rating for the service has remained good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Knebworth Care Home 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.