Archived: Kings Court

Updated 7 December 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 8 and 9 August 2017 and was unannounced.

One inspector undertook this inspection.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed previous inspection reports and notifications received from the service before the inspection. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. This enabled us to ensure we were addressing any potential areas of concern.

We looked at care records for four people, medication administration records (MAR), a number of policies and procedures, four staff files, staff training, induction and supervision records, staff rotas, complaints records, accident and incident records, audits and minutes of meetings.

During our inspection, we observed care and spoke with five people living at the home. We also spoke with the area manager, registered manager and two care staff on duty.

Kings Court was last inspected in June 2015. We found that areas of the quality monitoring process in place required improvement. The provider did not have the information to inform the quality of care and treatment provided for the continuous development of the service. This was a breach of Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The registered manager submitted an action plan in August 2015 detailing the action they would take in order to be compliant. The action plan had a completion date of December 2015. At this inspection we found that improvements had been made and the provider had taken the action required to meet this regulation.

Updated 7 December 2017

The inspection took place on 8 and 9 August 2017 and was unannounced.

Kings Court is a care home for up to 38 people. It provides care and support to people over the age of 65 years living with dementia. At the time of our visit there were 24 people at the home. The home has a range of communal areas and well maintained accessible gardens.

The home had 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.

People were protected from risks to their health and wellbeing. Up to date plans were in place to manage risks, without unduly restricting people’s independence.

People said they felt safe at the service and knew who they would speak to if they had concerns. The service followed the West Sussex safeguarding procedure, which was available to staff. Staff knew what their responsibilities were in reporting any suspicion of abuse.

People were treated with respect and their privacy was promoted. Staff were caring and responsive to the needs of the people they supported. People's health and well-being was assessed and measures put in place to ensure people's needs were met in an individualised way.

People’s medicines were managed safely. People had enough to eat and drink throughout the day and night. The mealtime was an inclusive experience.

There was an open and friendly culture combined with a dedication to providing the best possible care to people. Staff were approachable, knowledgeable, professional and keen to talk about their work. The atmosphere in the home was happy and calm. People were engaged and occupied; they interacted and chatted with each other. Every person we spoke to was complimentary about the caring nature of the staff.

Staff received training to enable them to do their jobs safely and to a good standard. They felt the support received helped them to do their jobs well.

There were enough staff on duty to support people with their assessed needs. The registered manager considered people’s support needs when completing the staffing rota and staffing levels were calculated appropriately. The registered manager followed safe recruitment procedures to ensure that staff working with people were suitable for their roles.

People benefited from receiving a service from staff who worked well together as a team. The registered manager and the staff team took pride in their work and were looking for ways to improve the service. Staff were confident they could take any concerns to the management and these would be taken seriously. People were aware of how to raise a concern and were confident appropriate action would be taken.

The premises and gardens were well maintained. All maintenance and servicing checks were carried out, keeping people safe. People were able to contribute to improve the service. People had opportunities to feedback their views about the home and quality of the care they received.