We inspected Kingsthorpe View Care Home on 10 April 2018. The visit was unannounced. We returned announced on 11 April 2018.

Kingsthorpe View Care Home is registered to provide accommodation, nursing care and personal care for up to 50 older people. The home is on two floors with various communal areas for people to sit and meet with relatives. There were 33 people living at the home at the time of our inspection.

The service did not have a registered manager. 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 provider had recruited a new manager and they were due to register with CQC.

Since the new manager has been in post there have been a number of extenuating circumstances beyond the provider and new manager's control. These have caused a number of problems in managing the service effectively. These have included staffing issues, a fire and total heating system failure. The fire had happened as a result of a person, who now no longer uses the service setting fire to their bedroom. Swift and appropriate action was taken by staff to ensure people were safe.

A new heating system had been installed due to failure of the previous system.

Not all areas of the service were clean and hygienic. This included communal areas, bathrooms and toilets. The environment was not always suitable in maintaining people's privacy as some toilets and bathrooms did not have locks fitted.

People using the service told us they felt safe living at Kingsthorpe View. Relatives we spoke with agreed their family members were safe living there.

The staff team were aware of their responsibilities for keeping people safe from avoidable harm and knew to report any concerns to the management team.

Risks associated with people's care and support had been assessed but had not always reviewed and updated following an incident. Where risks had been identified these had, wherever possible, been minimised to better protect people's health and welfare.

Appropriate pre-employment checks had been carried out on new members of staff to make sure they were safe and suitable to work there. Suitable numbers of staff were deployed in order to meet people’s needs.

New staff members had received an induction into the service and on-going training was being delivered. This enabled the staff team to gain the skills and knowledge they needed to meet people's needs. The staff team felt supported by the acting manager and were provided with the opportunity to share their views of the service. The acting manager had yet to implement regular supervision for all staff.

People were supported with their medicines in a safe way. Where people received covert medicines appropriate consultation with the pharmacist had not taken place. Where people needed their medicines prior to eating or taking other medicines, it was not always clear which staff had the responsibility to administer these particular medicines. Where people were living with dementia there was no guidance to ensure they received appropriate pain relief if they were unable to tell the nurse they were experiencing pain.

The acting manager had assessed people’s care and support needs prior to them moving into the service to make sure they could be met by the staff team.

The staff team supported people to make decisions about their day to day care and support. They were aware of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) ensuring people's human rights were protected.

People's food and drink requirements had been assessed and a balanced diet was being provided. Records kept for people assessed as being at risk of not getting the drinks they needed to keep them well, were not always kept up to d