Archived: Kingfisher House

Updated 31 May 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors, 1 specialist nurse advisor 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

Kingfisher House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Kingfisher House is a care home with nursing care. 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

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 3 May 2023 and ended on 16 May 2023. We visited the service on 3 May 2023.

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 worked with the service. 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 4 people who used the service and 4 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 8 members of staff including the registered manager, clinical lead, 1 nursing assistant, 3 care assistants, 1 domestic cleaner and 1 activities co-ordinator. We gained feedback from external professionals.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 6 people's care and medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and a variety of records relating to the management of the service. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, were reviewed.

Updated 31 May 2023

About the service

Kingfisher House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 50 people. The service provides support to older people living with a physical disability or dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 43 people using the service.

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

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.

Baby gates had been placed on people’s bedroom doors to restrict access to others. However, alternative measures had not been explored. We feedback our concerns in relation to the use of baby gates. Immediate action was taken by the provider and an alternative measure was sourced.

Since our last inspection improvements had been made to care records and risk assessments. Risks to people were regularly assessed and appropriate measures were in place to minimise risk.

Staff were recruited safely. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. People, relatives and staff gave us mixed feedback around whether there was enough staff. They told us they felt there needed to be more regular staff and less agency workers. One relative said, “If regular staff are on, I am happy, but I don’t like [person] being cared for by the agency, they want to see a familiar face.”

People told us they felt safe and there was a nice atmosphere at the home. People's medicines were administered and managed safely. Health and safety checks were regularly conducted. Accidents and incidents were recorded, and actions were taken to mitigate the risk of reoccurrence.

Complaints and concerns were responded to in a timely manner. There was an activities co-ordinator in place who provided a wide range of activities.

Feedback about the registered manager was positive. There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality and standard of the service. The provider worked with healthcare professionals to meet people's needs. The registered manager co-operated with the inspection and took swift action to reduce risks and improve the service.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published October 2023) and there were breaches in regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found the provider was no longer in breach of regulation.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced focused inspection of the service on 3 May 2023. We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions safe, responsive and well-led which contain those requirements.

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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last comprehensive inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained rated requires improvement. 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 Kingfisher House 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.