- Care home
Kirkstall Court
Assessment report published 1 May 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 4 to 11 March 2026. Kirkstall Court is a residential service supporting people with brain injuries.
We carried out this assessment partly due to concerns we received regarding people’s safety at the service. We did not find these concerns were substantiated. We reviewed all quality statements.
People told us they felt safe, and we found the environment to be clean, well maintained and supported by appropriate infection prevention and control measures. Staff understood safeguarding procedures and made referrals, where required. Staff were safely recruited.
During this assessment, we found some improvements were needed in medicines management. Some care records linked to risks to people’s care also required strengthening, including clearer guidance for risks such as diabetes and skin integrity. We discussed our concerns with the registered manager. They took prompt responsive action.
People were supported by staff who were kind, calm and respectful, and interactions we observed were positive. Staff understood people’s preferences and promoted independence, with individuals encouraged to participate in daily tasks and community activities. People and relatives shared positive feedback about the management team, describing leaders as responsive and approachable. Staff felt well supported. Care was person‑centred and responsive, with prompt referrals to external professionals when needs changed. However, recording of involvement in reviews and activities required continued improvement.
Overall, people experienced caring support within a positive culture. The management team demonstrated a clear commitment to improving the service and addressing issues identified during the assessment. Quality assurance systems were in place and had been mostly effective, though some audits had not identified the gaps we found in medication and record‑keeping. Immediate action was taken to make these more robust.
People's experience of this service
We spoke with 5 people using the service and 4 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We observed care in the communal areas to help us understand the experience of people. We used the Short Observational Framework for Assessment (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. People told us they felt safe and generally well supported by staff. They described positive relationships, kindness and respectful interactions, and said staff helped them with day to day tasks, medicines and accessing the community. There was positive engagement between people and staff. Feedback from relatives was mostly positive about the care people received. Several described managers as responsive and supportive. They said staff acted appropriately when people were unwell and promoted people’s independence and wellbeing. Some relatives highlighted areas where experiences varied, particularly around communication, timeliness of updates, and consistency in staffing. People told us they had choice about food, activities and how they spent their time, and most felt confident about raising concerns. Relatives told us they could contact managers when needed, and concerns were usually acted upon. However, some said follow up was inconsistent.