Kingswood ECH

Updated 11 November 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in specialist ‘extra care’ housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is rented and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support service.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 11 October 2021 and ended on 18 October 2021. We visited the office location on 11 October 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. 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. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of staff including the registered manager, senior care worker and an apprentice care worker. We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at staff rotas and training records.

Updated 11 November 2021

About the service

Kingswood is an extra care service consisting of 82 self-contained apartments accommodating people from 55 years of age within a large, purpose-built building. At the time of the inspection, 22 people received 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

People told us they felt safe receiving support from staff team and considered them to be reliable and trustworthy. The provider had processes in place for the reporting of concerns and this extended to the provision of staff training. Medication systems were safe and effective. People had the opportunity to influence arrangements for the administration of their medicines either through staff managing it, self-administration or management by family members. One medicines care plan needed to be updated to reflect changes in administration and this was actioned.

People received support from well trained and supervised staff. A structured induction was in place to enable new staff to become acquainted with the ethos of the service. People received appropriate access to health professionals, their dietary needs were met and their needs assessed appropriately before receiving a service. The consent of people to their support was always gained.

People told us that staff were respectful and caring and took the privacy of people into account. Sensitive information was dealt with appropriately to ensure confidentiality was maintained.

Care plans were person-centred and involved people in their support. People had access to accessible information about their care and appropriate formats to meet their communication needs could be made available if required. A clear complaints process was in place and complaints were investigated in a timely manner.

The registered manager was aware of their responsibilities as a registered person. Notifications were sent to CQC to reflect key events that occurred. Audits were in place to check the quality of the service and this included the capturing of the views of people who used the service and their relatives. The service focused on the individual needs of people and ensured that their independence was respected at all times.

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

This service was registered with us on 8 March 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection to provide Kingswood with its first CQC rating.

Follow up

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