- Care home
The Knowles
Report from 25 June 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 24 September to 01 October 2025.
The Knowles is a care home providing personal care and accommodation to older people and younger adults who may live with a cognitive impairment. The provider can support people who may require discharge to assess (D2A) beds, which are short-term placements, typically in a care home, where a person is assessed for their ongoing care needs after they've been discharged from hospital but are not yet well enough to return home.
At the time of the inspection there were 37 people living at the home. The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to safe care and treatment. At this inspection, the service had made improvements in the way risks associated with people’s care needs, and the environment were managed and were no longer in breach of this regulation.
People’s risks were identified and actions taken to mitigate those risks through regular review and checks. However, we found some improvements were still needed, such as better documentation of assessing people’s capacity to make specific decisions and how staff recorded some people’s daily activities. People received their medicines from trained staff and medicines were stored safely. We did find some improvements were required, for example the storage and administration of eye drops and how staff applied transdermal patch medicines.
Staff understood what was expected of them and were supported to provide good care. Staff knew people well and could adapt their approach with the care they provided to people, so it reflected what was important for that person. Staff told us they worked well as a team to help people achieve good outcomes.
The service had made improvements in the way the home was managed. The provider had improved their quality assurance systems however some further development is required to ensure issues like we identified are highlighted by the provider through their own checks. The provider used external consultants to help reinforce their quality assurance.
Staff were confident any concerns or feedback they gave at team meetings or to management, would be acted on. The provider told us they had spent time improving the culture at the home which in turn improved the experiences of those people living in the home. The provider invested in their staff and staff felt valued. There were enough staff to support people and staff received training and had experience relevant to their roles and responsibilities. Safe recruitment checks made sure staff were suitable to care for people.
People's experience of this service
Everyone said that they felt safe living at The Knowles, and relatives said that they felt pleased that their relatives were safe and well looked after. Relatives told us all staff were kind and caring. Relatives said they were kept informed, listened to and feedback from relatives we spoke with was positive. However, there was a mixed response from people and relatives about the variety of activities offered to them.
During our visit, we saw a group of people around a table involved in activities such as colouring and word games. In the afternoon, people played magnetic darts. One person said that this was the first time they had seen any activities, this was supported by relatives’ comments that said the number and variety of activities was starting to improve. People were satisfied with the food and choices offered to them and people said they were supported by enough staff.