We carried out a review of the data available to us about Brendoncare Knightwood Mews on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Brendoncare Knightwood Mews, you can give feedback on this service.
Brendoncare Knightwood Mews is a domiciliary care agency providing person care and support to people in their own homes and flats. The service provides support to older people. At the time of our inspection there were 6 people receiving personal care.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The service people received from Brendoncare Knightwood Mews was safe, people told us they were happy with the care and support. Staff who worked for the service were happy and enjoyed their role.
There was a recruitment process in place. However, this was not always followed, we have made a recommendation to the provider about recruitment. Quality assurance systems were in place, we have made a recommendation about strengthening those systems in order to drive improvements within the service. A survey had been sent out to people using the service, with a plan to share the results and take actions where needed.
There were enough staff on duty. Staff had the necessary skills and experience to carry out their role. Staff felt supported and appreciated. People received their medicines as prescribed. Infection control procedures were robust. People had access to healthcare when needed and supported to maintain their physical needs, referrals where necessary were made in a timely manner. People were supported to have enough to eat and drink.
Risks people faced in their day to day lives were assessed, and person-centred care plans had been created to enable staff to support people whilst maintaining their independence. 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.
Staff were kind and caring, people were positive about the staff at the service. People had personalised care which met their needs. People had an opportunity to discuss their end of life needs and wishes. People knew how to make complaints and raise concerns, they felt confident they would be addressed. Communication needs and preferences were known to staff and detailed in care plans.
Staff knew their roles and responsibilities. Staff felt proud to work for the service and told us the manager was interested in increasing their involvement. The manager understood their role including their legal obligation to report concerns and notify CQC of certain events that occurred within the service. We received positive feedback about the manager and deputy manager of the service. People and staff were complimentary about the whole team at Brendoncare Knightwood Mews.
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 this service was good (published 10 August 2017).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
The personal care service was provided to people who lived in private apartments or bungalows within the Knightwood complex. Whilst not all people needed any personal care or support, those that did could either choose to make their own arrangements or use the personal care service provided by Brendoncare. When we visited eight people were using the service. Other people living within the complex could receive care should they need it in an emergency. Additional facilities on site included a licensed restaurant and coffee shop, residents’ lounge, shop, a library with IT facilities and a hairdressing salon.
There was a registered manager in place. 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.
At the last inspection in May 2015, the service was rated good. At this inspection we found that the service remained good.
This domiciliary care service has provided consistently good, safe, effective and caring support which is responsive to people’s needs. They do this well because there is an established staff team based on site who know people well.
The service was safe. Staff were knowledgeable about identifying abuse and how to report it to safeguard people. Recruitment procedures were robust. Risk assessments were in place for people using the service to support their safety. There were also processes in place to manage any risks in relation to the running of the service. Staff deployment was suitable for people's needs and people's medicines were safely managed.
The service was effective. People were supported by experienced staff who were provided with a range of training to keep their skills and competencies up to date. Staff always asked for people’s consent before they provided care and support. People were supported to maintain good health and nutrition.
The service was caring. People said the staff were caring and friendly and said they supported their independence. Staff understood the needs and preferences of the people using the service and acted upon their wishes. People's dignity and privacy was respected.
The service was responsive. People's needs had been assessed with them and they told us they received the flexible support they needed from the service. Care plans were person centred and reflected what was important to the person. The service had a complaints policy in place and people felt able to complain if they needed to.
The service was well-led. The service had a positive open culture. There were good systems in place to check on the quality and safety of the service provided and to put action plans in place where needed.
This inspection took place on 13 May 2015 and was unannounced. A second visit took place on 19 May 2015.
The personal care service was provided to people who lived in private apartments or bungalows within the Knightwood complex. Whilst not all people needed any personal care or support, those that did could either choose to make their own arrangements or use the personal care service provided by Brendoncare. When we visited eight people were using the service. Others could receive care should they need it in an emergency. Additional facilities on site included a licensed restaurant and coffee shop, residents’ lounge, shop a library with IT facilities and a hairdressing salon.
There was a new manager in place who going to apply to be registered. 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.
Care provided included assistance with washing and dressing, preparing drinks and snacks, providing reassurance, assisting with medicines and liaising when this was requested, with health and social care professionals. No one needed staff to assist them to move, although staff had been trained in using a hoist to move people safely.
People said they felt safe and said they received a consistently good standard of care and support. Staff had a good understanding of how to protect people from avoidable harm such as from potential abuse and any risk to people’s health or wellbeing was assessed and actions were taken to minimise them. Staff recruitment processes were robust and staff were employed in sufficient numbers to meet peoples’ needs. Where staff assisted people with their medicines this was managed consistently and safely.
Staff discussed their learning and development needs and training was made available to ensure they could effectively meet people’s needs and preferences. People were always asked to give consent to their care and support. Staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and put this into practice to ensure people’s human and legal rights were respected. People’s health care needs were discussed with them and when requested staff liaised effectively with health care professionals on people’s behalf.
Staff had developed trusting relationships with people who used the service and cared about their wellbeing. They understood and respected confidentiality. People’s independence was promoted and they were regularly consulted about their needs, choices and preferences and about how these should be met. Staff provided a flexible service by providing more care and support when people were unwell or when they were upset or distressed.
There was a positive culture and everyone using or involved was encouraged to provide feedback to develop it further. Managers and senior staff were available to staff for guidance and support. Quality assurance arrangements were robust.
People had not needed to make any complaints but knew how to do so and were confident that any concern would be listened to and acted upon.
We found that the service was well led and that there were sufficient motivated and appropriately trained staff to meet peoples' needs. Records were clear, factual and up to date.
We spoke with 19 people who live within the complex, including four people who received regular care from the agency and others who could receive care should they need it in an emergency. All told us that they felt safe within the complex and were happy with the quality of service that they received.
We interviewed three staff who told us that they felt supported by the manager with one of them telling us that "this is definitely one of the better homes that I have worked in."
The manager told us that "staff are dedicated and go the extra mile."
We looked at care plans for five people during our visit. The manager and staff showed us how the care plans were currently being redeveloped in conjunction with people using the service, their family members and the staff team.
They told us the agency communicated with them about any changes and checked they were satisfied with the service they received. They told us they could raise concerns with the service which would be responded to appropriately.