Kingarth

Updated 2 February 2024

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by 1 inspector and a specialist nurse advisor with expertise in mental health and learning disabilities.

Service and service type

Kingarth is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Kingarth is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out, and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 5 people who used the service to help us understand their experiences. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We also spoke with 2 visiting relatives.

We spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager, team leaders, support workers, a student nurse on placement, and the area director.

We looked at 7 care plans and associated records, and records related to quality and safety.

Updated 2 February 2024

About the service

Kingarth provides specialist single sex accommodation for up to 7 people. Care and supported is provided to people living with a learning disability, autistic people, and those with mental health support needs. The focus of the service is to provide holistic therapeutic support for people whose behaviours may challenge others. At the time of this inspection 7 people were accommodated.

In February 2022, the provider initiated an administrative change to their registration of Kingarth with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). This change meant we were required to reinspect the service as a ‘newly registered’ location.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support

People were extremely well 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. Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life. Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community. Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome. Staff supported people to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing.

Right Care

Staff promoted equality and diversity in their support for people. They understood people’s cultural needs and provided culturally appropriate care; this was a golden thread that ran through all aspects of the service. People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked exceptionally well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks; this area was an exemplar of outstanding practice.

Right Culture

People were supported by staff who comprehensively understood best practice in relation to the wide range of strengths, impairments, or sensitivities people with a learning disability and/or autistic people may have. This meant people received compassionate, empowering, outstanding care that was tailored to their needs. Staff evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families, and other professionals as appropriate. Staff worked with people to ensure risks of a closed culture were minimised and so that people received support based on transparency, respect, and inclusivity. People had been instrumental in this work and helped to develop the ‘KingCare’ approach in the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was re-registered with us on 09 February 2022 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.