Knights' Grove Care Home

Updated 3 March 2021

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.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 9 February 2021 and was announced.

Updated 3 March 2021

This comprehensive inspection took place on 5 and 12 December 2018. The first day was unannounced.

Knights Grove is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Knights Grove can accommodate up to 56 older people in purpose-built premises and specialises in providing care and support for people living with dementia. Nursing care is provided. There were 54 people living or staying there when we inspected.

A registered manager was in post. 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.’

The atmosphere throughout the home was exceptionally positive, welcoming and homely. Feedback from people who used the service, their relatives and staff was consistently very positive and the management at the home exceeded people’s expectations. They were also full of praise for the staff. Many people gave us instances of exceptional care they had received or told us about occasions where staff had gone the extra mile to ensure people continued to live fulfilling, happy lives.

People received a consistently high standard of care because staff and management put people first and at the heart of the service, while continuously looking for new ways to improve their care and quality of life.

Without exception, the staff we spoke with during our inspection spoke positively about the registered manager and the management team. They confirmed that they felt very well supported which in turn motivated them to do a good job.

Care was personalised and met individual needs. In many cases, we were told, it exceeded people’s expectations. Staff knew people very well, cared about them and understood their care and support needs as well as the risks people faced, and were motivated to support them to live full lives. There was no sense of task-oriented practice in the home.

We saw that people were relaxed in the company of staff throughout our visits. Feedback from people, relatives and visitors was that staff provided outstanding care and support and went the “extra mile" to ensure that people felt cared for. Peoples needs were regularly assessed and reviewed in detail and action was taken to respond to people’s changing needs.

The service supported people nearing the end of life to have a comfortable and dignified death by working closely with health care services and through consulting people about end of life wishes. Staff talked with pride about the care they were able to give to people in their final days.

There was a very strong emphasis on the provision of activities that were meaningful to the people living in the home. People told us they were happy with how they spent their time. Staff told us how they believed that being fulfilled and entertained promoted people’s overall wellbeing. The home was fantastically decorated for the Christmas season there was an air of excitement and expectation. Staff told us how many of them had come to the home on their days off to make sure everyone’s bedrooms were decorated, if they wanted this, and that all areas of the home had a wonderful festive feel to them.

Staff took great pride in creating an atmosphere that welcomed people and promoted their independence whilst respecting their privacy and dignity. Peoples wishes were respected with the daily choices they made or were supported to make. Visitors valued the relationships they and their loved ones had with the staff team and told us they always felt welcome.

People had help from, safely recruited and appropriately trained, staff. Staff also understood their role and responsibilities to protect people from abuse. Staff and the senior management team advocated for people to promote their safety and human rights.

People’s rights were protected because the staff acted in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005, including the deprivation of liberty safeguards. Where people could give consent to aspects of their care, staff sought this before providing assistance. If there were concerns that people would not be able to consent to their care, staff assessed their mental capacity. Where they were found to lack mental capacity, a decision was made and recorded regarding the care to be provided in the person’s best interests.

People received their medicines when they were needed and in ways that suited them. There were systems in place to check that medicines were administered correctly and safely.

The registered manager was very proactive in encouraging staff to look at how they could improve people’s health and wellbeing and to look at innovative ways to do this. People were supported to maintain their health and told us they had access to health care any time they wished. People's nutritional and hydration needs were being met and the standard of catering and meal time experience at the home was good.

People and staff were proud of the home and its facilities. The home was well equipped, and staff said that if ever the need for equipment was identified all they had to do was report this to the registered manager and it was provided. Staff understood the importance of infection control. The home was clean and well maintained throughout.

The service recorded and analysed accidents and near misses to understand what had happened, identify trends, and help prevent them happening again.

The service had a quality assurance system in place to enable the monitoring of the quality of care, people, service and life. Within these four areas there were numerous quantitive and qualitive audits and checks carried out. Information from these was analysed and records showed where any issues or concerns had been identified, action had been taken to address these and this was continuously evaluated.