Knowle Gate Care Home

¿ A visitor ‘code of conduct’ was in place. The code detailed the responsibilities and safe practice requirements of visitors during the pandemic.

¿ A large mobile Perspex screen was used during some visits to maintain social distancing. The use of the screen had reduced people's levels of anxiety as they were able to see and talk to their relatives clearly.

¿ Computer tablets had been purchased to help people keep in touch with others who were important to them. Staff supported people to make video and telephone calls on a daily basis.

¿ Risks associated with staff using public transport to travel to and from work had been reduced. Free transport had been provided to and from work for those staff.

¿ Wellbeing sessions had been held with staff. This included signposting staff to a confidential helpline for advice during the pandemic.

¿ A ‘fogger’ cleaning machine had been purchased and was used to complete deep cleans of the environment. Use of the machine meant areas that were difficult to clean by other techniques were sanitised.

Knowle Gate Care Home is care home providing personal and nursing care to a maximum of 60 younger people, people aged 65 and over, people with mental health conditions and people with physical disabilities and sensory impairments. Some of those people lived with dementia. The home is purpose built and during our visit 53 people lived at the home.

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

People felt safe and the provider’s safeguarding procedures protected them from harm. Risks associated with people’s care had been assessed and were well managed. Staff understood the risks and knew how to care for people safely.

Staff were recruited safely, and enough staff were on duty during our visit to meet people's needs in a timely way. Recruiting new staff was one of the registered managers main priorities.

The environment continued to meet people's needs and plans were in place to ensure the home remained a pleasant place for people to live. The building was clean and infection prevention and control measures were effective. Staff completed infection control training and their practice protected people from the risks of infection.

People had confidence in the ability of staff to deliver their care effectively. New staff completed an induction in line with nationally recognised induction standards when they started work at the home. Staff spoke positively about their training and were encouraged to develop their skills to benefit people.

People enjoyed the food and were encouraged to eat nutritionally balanced meals to maintain their health. People had access to health professionals when needed and the staff team worked in partnership with health and social care professionals to ensure people received the care they needed to remain well.

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 demonstrated commitment to protecting people’s rights in relation to equality and diversity. People felt respected and confirmed their independence was promoted and care was provided in a dignified way.

People received personalised and responsive care from kind and caring staff. People and those closest to them had contributed to an assessment of their needs before they had moved into the home. Care records contained sufficient information about people to help staff provide person centred care. Good teamwork and information sharing ensured people received the care and support they needed.

People were happy with the range of social activities and events available to occupy their time. People had opportunities to maintain important relationships and develop links with their local community which enabled them to develop friendships and meet new people.

People and relatives knew how to make a complaint and felt comfortable to do so. Lessons were learnt when things went wrong, and accidents and incidents were recorded and monitored to minimise the risks of a reoccurrence.

The culture was friendly, and people and relatives spoke positively about the leadership of the service. They registered manager led by example and communicated a clear vision of how they expected people to be cared for. Quality assurance systems were effective to quickly identify and address any areas that fell below the provider’s expectation. The management were open and transparent during our inspection visit. They welcomed our feedback and showed dedication to their roles.

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 04 August 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.