Kingsthorpe Grange

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

Effective – this means we looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on best available evidence.

At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

This service scored 79 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

People’s needs were assessed when they started to use the service, these were reviewed regularly or as their needs changed. Pre-admission assessment processes were sufficiently robust and helped staff to identify people’s needs, wishes and preferences. Processes had also been developed to identify if the service was able to meet people’s needs prior to any admission.

People, their relatives and relevant agencies were involved and consulted as part of the assessment processes.

Staff were provided with information and guidance through handovers and digital care plans. One staff member told us, “We use accurate handovers and documentation. Verbal and written communication is used to ensure no key information is missed about peoples’ needs. We also involve the resident and their family in discussions and decisions about transitions. Nurses collaborate with GPs, social workers, district nurses, occupational therapists, and other professionals to coordinate care for each resident as per their needs.”

The provider planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards.

The provider planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards. The provider used a range of approved health and social care tools to assess people’s needs and ensure they were receiving the correct care and treatment. For example, tools to assess people’s skin integrity ensured actions were taken to minimise the risk of wounds developing. The provider also made good use of the malnutrition universal screening tool, (MUST) to protect people from the risk of malnutrition and weight loss. People’s food was fortified if required (this increases the nutritional value and calories of a meal).

Staff planned people’s care with them to ensure people understood and agreed to the care they were going to receive, and people’s needs were met. The registered manager carried out audits to check people were receiving their care as planned.

The provider worked well across teams and services to support people. They made sure people only needed to tell their story once by sharing their assessment of needs when people moved between different services.

The provider had systems and processes in place which staff followed to promote effective communication and working with other agencies.

Staff described positive, supportive teamwork within the staff team. One staff member told us, “I find working with outside professionals very valuable, as it helps to ensure that all residents get the right support and care they need.”

People’s records included their medical history and their daily needs, these were shared with health professionals as required. Staff attended regular meetings for updates about the service and feedback about any concerns or ideas for improvements.

There is a strong focus on empowering people to maximise their opportunity to manage their own health, care and wellbeing needs as much as possible.

Inspectors saw evidence of strong collaboration across staff, services and organisations to enable people to have a good quality of life.

The provider supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. Staff supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.

People and relatives described how staff supported them to stay healthy. One relative told us, “I was quite impressed the other day, as [my relative] had to have a [medical screening] so I took the letter in and the nurse got on to it and got an appointment for next week which I thought was very good. Also, the other week [staff] phoned saying they had taken [my relative] to hospital as [they were unwell]. So I was impressed as [staff] were proactive and didn’t hang about."

People were able to access a range of activities which provided stimulation in addition to access an outdoors space. For example, inspectors witnessed a group movement class being carried out by an external fitness professional. They told us they attended the service 3 times a week and had been doing so for 10 years. They told us they, ‘Felt part of the Team’ at Kingsthorpe Grange and, “Loved seeing their faces and making them smile.”

Inspectors also observed the use of Virtual Reality therapy (VR) being provided via an external company. Staff told us the VR benefited people’s emotional well-being and that it could also be used as reminiscence therapy for people with dementia. We saw a person enjoying the visual sensation of walking along a beach.

A person told us about the impact this had on them, “I saw virtual reality, they took me on google maps and took me home. So funny seeing my drive and house. I messaged my relative and told them. You never guess where I went this morning! I went home.”

They also said, “[The staff] do lovely things. I have a great laugh. We have the animals around, the guinea pig. I love the fur of the animals.”

Staff reported changes to people’s health and referrals were made to the GP. Staff contacted emergency services appropriately to ensure people received prompt care when need. A member of staff told us, “We have our GP surgery available weekdays 9-5, if not will contact 111 or 999 as per the healthcare emergencies.”

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

We saw people were supported to have a balanced diet and encouraged to have enough to eat and drink, though some people felt improvements were needed to meals times.

A relative told us, “The food is brilliant and [our relative] has put on weight. The food always looks really nice. The cook has been there for 29 years!. They are always good portion sizes."

People were supported to keep hydrated and where they were at risk of poor hydration or malnutrition, monitoring was put in place and actions taken to help improve people’s nutrition.

People and relatives were able to describe positive outcomes including arranging appointments so people could attend health services of their choice to maintain their wellbeing.

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.

People’s capacity to make decisions and choices, and the support they needed, had been assessed and recorded in line with the mental capacity act.

People and relatives told us staff sought consent before providing care, were supported to make choices and staff respected their decisions. A person told us, “Staff respect me in terms of their communication, knocking on the door before going into my space and always putting into consideration my likes and preferences.”

Staff had received training in the Mental Capacity Act and demonstrated how they gained people’s consent before providing care. We observed staff respected people’s choices and were receptive when people shared their views and wishes.

Care plans contained evidence of consent from people or their representatives where appropriate and best interest processes were followed.