25 May 2022
During an inspection looking at part of the service
About the service
Kitnocks House is a nursing home providing personal and nursing care to 63 people. People living at the home had high complex support needs in relation to their diagnosis of dementia, mental health conditions, learning disabilities and physical disabilities. At the time of the inspection there were 63 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were given their medicines in a way that met their individual needs. The provider had implemented a new electronic medicines administration and management system during the inspection. They were monitoring and updating the system as required promptly to fully embed the new system. The service had systems and processes in place for the safe storage, administration and use of medicines. However, these processes were not always followed, to ensure medicines were stored in line with recommendations. We have made a recommendation about the storage for some medicines.
We received mixed feedback from relatives about the staffing levels within the home. We observed safe staffing levels throughout the inspection and staff appeared unhurried and responsive to people. The provider was open about the challenges they had faced recruiting staff. They had created a recruitment team and implemented different initiatives to encourage recruitment and retention of staff. Safe recruitment processes were in place. Staff files contained the information required to aid safe recruitment decisions.
The provider had arrangements in place to assess and monitor risk. Risks to people were recorded in their care plans. 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. There were appropriate policies and systems in place to protect people from abuse. The manager understood their responsibilities to safeguard people from abuse.
Accidents and incidents were monitored, reviewed and analysed for trends and patterns. The provider carried out monthly and quarterly analysis of all accidents and incidents which had resulted in positive outcomes for people.
People were supported to maintain contact with their family members and friends throughout the pandemic. The provider facilitated visits for people living in the home in accordance with government guidance.
The manager promoted an inclusive, value based and positive culture. The management team had implemented changes to make the home more robust to weather challenges. Staff were deployed flexibly across the home to ensure people’s needs were met. They were confident in the changes being implemented and had a clear rationale for the changes. Most staff told us they felt supported, valued and listened to. However, some staff felt communication could be improved.
There were systems and processes in place for monitoring the quality of care and used to plan improvements. Where the quality assurance audits identified issues, remedial action was taken.
Most relatives were overall positive about the home. However, some felt communication could be improved on. Relatives mostly confirmed they were involved in people’s care and were able to contribute to care planning.
The management and staff team worked in partnership with a variety of healthcare professionals and had developed good working relationships which supported positive outcomes for people.
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 17 February 2021).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Kitnocks House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.