Kimberley House

Updated 1 October 2022

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.

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

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors, an Expert by Experience and a BSL interpreter.

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

Kimberley House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Kimberley House is a care home without nursing care, although it does have this on their registration. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection for our first visit. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be at the service to support the inspection. Subsequent inspection visits were unannounced in line with our methodology of inspecting services who support people with learning disabilities and/or autism.

Inspection activity started on 26 July 2022 and ended on 1 September 2022. We visited the location’s service on the 3, 20, 24 and 30 August 2022.

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 (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 communicated with two people who lived at the service with support of a BSL interpreter to understand their experience of care and support at the service. We also spoke with relatives to obtain their feedback. We spoke with seven staff including the area manager, the registered manager, acting team leaders and support workers. Additionally, we spoke with a BSL interpreter who regularly supports staff and people at the service during team meetings, training sessions, supervisions and during resident meetings.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care and support plans, risk assessments, records related to daily care and medication records. We also reviewed records relating to the governance and management of the service, these included audits, policies and procedures and team meetings minutes. Finally, we reviewed four staff records such as recruitment, supervision and training records.

Updated 1 October 2022

About the service

Kimberley House is a small residential care home providing the regulated activity of personal care to up to four people. The service is also registered to provider nursing care but is not currently set up to provide clinical support. The service provides support to young adults with learning disabilities and autism. At the time of our inspection there were two people using the service.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

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

Right Support: People’s independence was promoted and staff encouraged people to take control of their own care. The service specialised in supporting people who were deaf and recruited staff who were also deaf; this enabled British Sign Language (BSL) and people’s adapted variations of sign to be the primary language used at the service. Hearing staff were trained to a basic level of BSL and the provider planned to offer higher levels of BSL qualifications. People’s care and support needs were assessed in a person centred way and risks associated with the provision of people’s care were assessed to ensure support was provided safely. Staff supported people to achieve their goals, take part in their chosen activities and pursue their interests. Staffing levels and consistency within the staff team had been impacted during and following the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the provider had maintained a continued recruitment drive and decided to pause any new placements at the service until they could be managed by sufficient staffing levels.

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.

Right Care: People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to individuals needs in a way they were comfortable with. People had access to health care professionals when they needed them. Medicines were administered safely; however, we found inconsistencies in some records relating to the management of medication. Following our inspection, the provider shared additional evidence to demonstrate these issues had been addressed with staff and amendments had been made to records to promote consistent record keeping.

We have made a recommendation the provider monitors these improvements to ensure they are embedded.

Right Culture: People received quality care and support because staff worked closely with the registered manager and demonstrated a commitment to positive outcomes for people. Staff received regular supervision and staff were identified by the registered manager to be mentored as team leaders. The provider’s difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff had caused some staff to have not completed all their training. This was also impacted, due to the provider sourcing a BSL interpreter for staff who were deaf to complete their mandatory training. However, we saw clear evidence the provider was proactive in their plan to bring compliance with all training up to date. People and relatives praised the service, it’s staff and the registered manager for supporting people to achieve things they had not done in the past; this included, accessing community based activities, working in local shops and promoting healthy and positive relationships with friends, staff and partners.

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 rating for the service at the previous premises was good (published on 15 April 2019).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.