Kentwood House

Updated 17 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.

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 2 inspectors and a specialist advisor who was a registered nurse.

Service and service type

Kentwood 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. Kentwood 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, but they were not in the service.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we received about the service since the last inspection. 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 8 people who lived in the service about their experience of the care provided. We observed multiple interactions between people and staff throughout the day, including during the lunch service. We spoke with 4 members of staff including nurses, care workers and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. The registered manager was not in the service nor available on the day of the inspection. We reviewed a range of records including 8 peoples' care records and multiple medication records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed including policies, health and safety checks, meeting notes and audits.

Updated 17 May 2023

About the service

Kentwood House is a care home providing accommodation with personal and nursing care to up to 32 people. The service provides support for people with complex nursing needs including people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 11 people using the service. The accommodation is arranged across two floors with lift access.

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

There had been improvements in the recording of risk to people and assessments which reflected people's choices since our last inspection. The provider still needed to improve the detail on people's mental capacity assessments. More detailed guidance would be beneficial on specific health needs such as diabetes or anxiety and depression to enable staff to have detailed information to be able to support people in the most effective way.

Risks to people had been identified and staff were able to demonstrate knowledge of people's needs. They understood and demonstrated that people's wishes and preferences in how they wished to be supported were respected.

People were supported to minimise the risk of infection. Staff wore appropriate Personal Protective Equipment such as gloves, masks and aprons when completing people's care and the service was clean.

Staff demonstrated knowledge of the different types of abuse people may be at risk of and told us what action they would take if they suspected someone was a victim of abuse or neglect.

The numbers of safely recruited staff met the needs of people in the service and we observed caring, respectful and kind interactions between staff and people using the service.

Medicines were managed safely, and medicines administration records were completed. Stocks of medicines were correct and stored safely.

People told us that staff were kind, attentive and friendly. We observed positive culture between staff and people using the service and people all knew who the provider was and that they were approachable. Staff were responsive to people’s changes in need and supported them the way they wished to be supported.

The provider was open and honest during inspection. They were receptive to suggestions made during the inspection and will update the CQC with progress of these regularly.

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.

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 19 January 2023) and there were breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 05 October 2022. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment, governance and person-centred care .

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Kentwood House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement

We have identified a continuing breach of regulation in relation to records within the service at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.